Hooked on Books

Book Review: Illuminate by Aimee Agresti + Giveaway!

2012-03-05T12:14:00.000-05:00

Series: GildedWings #1

Publisher:Harcourt Children's Books

Genre:Paranormal

Page count: 531

Source: ReceivedARC from publisher in exchange for an honest review

Release date:March 6 2012

Haven Terra is a brainy, shy highschool outcast. But everything begins to change when she turnssixteen. Along with her best friend Dante and their quiet andbrilliant classmate Lance, she is awarded a prestigious internship inthe big city— Chicago—and is sent to live and work at a swankyand stylish hotel under the watchful eyes of a group of gorgeous andshockingly young-looking strangers: powerful and alluring hotel ownerAurelia Brown; her second-in-command, the dashing Lucian Grove; andtheir stunning but aloof staff of glamazons called The Outfit. As Haven begins falling for Lucian, she discovers that thesebeautiful people are not quite what they seem. With the help of amysterious book, she uncovers a network of secret passagewaysfrom the hotel’s jazz-age past that leads her to the heart of theevil agenda of Aurelia and company: they’re in the business ofbuying souls. Will they succeed in wooing Haven to join them intheir recruitment efforts, or will she be able to thwart thisdevilish set’s plans to take the souls of her classmates on promnight at the hotel?

My Review

In the spirit of Dorian Gray, Illuminate by Aimee Agresti isan enchanting and mysterious look into the battle between good andevil in oneself.

This book was a lot of fun to read. I found that there was a lot ofmystery and intrigue. Although some facts were obvious (Outfit = bad,Haven = good), many other things were more ambiguous and allowed formore than a few surprises along the way. I also loved the action inthis book. Some actual butt-kicking takes place and I loved it! Whatcan I say I'm an action movie fan – I like to see the good guysstickin it to the bad guys.

As I mentioned at the beginning of my review this book is very muchin the spirit of Dorian Gray. I'm a huge Oscar Wilde fan so this wasanother big plus for me. Haven has a special ability to expose what'sin a person's soul (particularly when she takes a photo of them).This skill is unbeknownst to her at first and she takes a series ofportraits of the Outfit. What happens to the pictures is quitegruesome and if you've read Dorian Gray the similarities won't belost on you.

Weighing in at 531 pages this is one hefty book. I know a few peoplehave thought it is too long but I was grateful for the amount ofdetail put into it. Because of its length we get to see more ofHaven's training, we get to see more of the inner workings of theOutfit and we get to see more Lance. Seriously, I love this boy. He'ssweet, smart, likes to read. At one point he's compared to ClarkKent. Definitely a winner in my books.

I had a lot of fun getting lost in this book so if you're a fan of YAparanormal and/or fantasy books I definitely recommend you check thisone out.

About the Author

Aimee Agresti is an entertainmentjournalist with ten years of experience writing, editing, andchatting up celebrities. A former staff writer for Us Weeklymagazine, she has interviewed everyone from Angelina Jolie and GeorgeClooney to the stars of The Hills, and even penned the magazine’scoffee table book Inside Hollywood. In addition to Us, her workhas appeared in People, Premiere, DC Magazine, The Washington Post,Boston magazine, Women’s Health, Mademoiselle, and the New YorkObserver. She lives in Washington, DC.

Similar Titles

Embrace by Jessica Shirvington

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

Unearthly by Cynthia Hand

Giveaway!

Thanks to the lovely people at Thomas Allan Canada I have one finished copy of Illuminate to give away. (It's so shiny!!). All you have to do is answer the following question:

"Haven's biggest desire is to become a doctor and cure cancer. What would you ask for if tempted by the Outfit?"

*Sorry this giveaway is Canadian only.*

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Camp Wordsmith: Setting

2012-03-03T14:04:00.001-05:00

I have undertaken an adventure for 2012, alongside fellow bloggers Angel (Mermaid Visions) and Jen (Almost Grown Up). Were each going to write a novel and we're going to track our progress through these weekly updates. We'll be checking in every Saturday with our word counts, and story updates as well as discussions on craft/inspiration.

Week: 9

Word Count: 16, 023

Stage: First Draft

Confession time. I did all my writing for this week last night. I didn't plan it that way but when you mix a nasty chest cold with asthma you get a lot of lying down wishing you could breathe normally/ fall asleep and not a lot of writing. But anyway....

This week we're talking about setting!

Since my novel is a contemporary the larger setting is pretty basic. (For a really good post about world building I highly recommend you check out what Jen wrote today.) To be quiet honest I haven't fully decided on a setting for my book yet. I currently live in Toronto so my original plan was to set the novel there. However, as I got further into the writing I realized I needed to work with a much smaller town. The high school most of my characters go to is quite small, and most things they visit are within walking distance. I've gone back and readjusted some things to fit a small town better but I haven't decided what city I should set it in just yet.

What I have decided on though is the locations much of the story takes place in. Mainly a popular Irish pub, where two of my characters work and a local coffee shop called Alternative Grounds. I think my characters end up in Alternative Ground almost every third chapter or so - whether to meet up, work on homework, get away to think for awhile etc etc.

I've actually named the coffee shop after one on Roncesvalles Avenue in Toronto. I love the name and the decor (and the coffee) of the real life version and thought it would be a good fit for my story. I did mix it up a little - adding in some of my favourite features from Coffee and Company in Kingston ON (which is where I spent A LOT of time in University). Some of my favourite scenes so far have taken place in this imaginary coffee house and I've spent a lot of time thinking about what it would look and feel like. What kind of music would be playing, what kind of food you could get there, how cute the baristas would be. In a way Alternative Grounds has become like a character to me. I couldn't imagine this story without it any more than I could imagine it without any of my main characters.

So I guess my "tip" for this week is to not write about your location passively. Put yourself there. Imagine what it would be like for all five senses, It's a clear player in your story whether you realize it or not.

Goal for this week: Get past 20,000 words. I'm working from home all this week so I should be able to write every day. My ideal would be 1,000 words a day. Wish me luck!

Fangirl Friday: Doctor Who Paper Crafts!

2012-03-02T00:21:00.000-05:00

Fangirl Friday is a weekly feature here at Hooked on Books, where I share a non bookish nerdy thing that I love. Could be movies, television, comics, DIY projects. Basically just anything I want to Fangirl over.

This week something very exciting is happening over on my personal blog - The Bibliophile's Guide to the Galaxy. The fabulous Meghan of Coffee and Wizards and I are starting a Doctor Who Watch-a-long. We're starting from the 2005 relaunch and whether you're already a fan and want to re-watch it or if you've been looking for an excuse to watch it for the first time you should definitely join in!

10th Doctor

In order to celebrate I decided to make this week's Fangirl Friday Doctor Who themed as well (because let's face it we all need a little more of the Doctor in our life).

For those of us who may not always be satisfied with an episode's outcome or who have fabulous ideas for where the Doctor and his companion should go next I recommend these fabulous Doctor Who paper crafts.

Patterns are given to make your own 3D versions of your favourite Doctor(s), the Tardis, Daleks, Amy, Rory, Capt Jack... There are even different outfits!

Here are a few of the ones I've printed off and can not wait to display proudly throughout my apartment.

Happy Friday!!

Pandemonium Club: Hana by Lauren Oliver + Giveaway

2012-03-01T07:00:00.000-05:00

Series: Delirium#1.5

Publisher:Harper Teen

Genre: Dystopia

Page count: 144

Source:Purchased a copy

Release date:February 28 2012

Buy it for: Kobo|Kindle|Nook

The summer before they're supposedto be cured of the ability to love, best friends Lena and Hana beginto drift apart. While Lena shies away from underground music andparties with boys, Hana jumps at her last chance to experience theforbidden. For her, the summer is full of wild music, dancing—andeven her first kiss. But on the surface, Hana must be a model ofperfect behavior. She meets her approved match, Fred Hargrove, andglimpses the safe, comfortable life she’ll have with him once theymarry. As the date for her cure draws ever closer, Hana desperatelymisses Lena, wonders how it feels to truly be in love, and issimultaneously terrified of rebelling and of falling into line.

My Review

Hanais an amazing little novella that fits nicely between Deliriumand Pandemoniumand will remind you of all the reasons this series captured yourheart.

Overlappingwith much of Delirium,Hana introduces to thestory from the perspective of Lena's best friend. Hana was always oneof my favourite characters. She was brave and independent and shewasn't afraid to take some chances (albeit reckless ones). I foundher a powerful force, but after Lena meets up with Alex you reallydon't see too much of her.

Inonly 144 pages we not only get to see more of Hana, but we get toreally see her develop as a character and as a person. It wasn't allparties and illegal music for Hana. You finally get to experiencemore of her family life, her relationships and the inner turmoil sheexperiences as she approaches her cure date. I thought Hana was a really unique opportunityto get to know a secondary character better.

Ifmore Hana-time isn't enough of an incentive of you, then you need toread this novella because Hanareveals the answers to some of the questions Deliriummay have left you with and some of them are definitely going tosurprise you. I was crushed and more than a little angry when Ifinished but it puts you in the perfect state of mind to startreading Pandemonium.

Finally,Hana is worth readingfor the same reason you should read any Lauren Oliver work. Becauseshe has an incredible talent for making you feel allthe feelings and breaking your heart into a thousand tiny pieces.

About the Author

Lauren Oliver comes from a family ofwriters and so has always (mistakenly) believed that spending hoursin front of the computer every day, mulling over the differencebetween “chortling” and “chuckling,” is normal. She hasalways been an avid reader. She attended the University ofChicago, where she continued to be as impractical as possible bymajoring in philosophy and literature. After college, she attendedthe MFA program at NYU and worked briefly as the world’s worsteditorial assistant, and only marginally better assistant editor, ata major publishing house in New York. Her major career contributionsduring this time were flouting the corporate dress code at everypossible turn and repeatedly breaking the printer.Before I Fall isher first published novel. She is deeply grateful for the chanceto continue writing, as she has never been particularly good atanything else.

MorePandemonium Club!!

Monday, February 27: Deliriumaudiobook review at Esther's Ever After

Tuesday, February 28: Pandemoniumrelease! Review at A Cupcake and a Latte

Wednesday, February 29: FanPlaylist for Pandemonium at Mermaid Vision Books

Thursday, March 1: Hana novellareview at Christa's Hooked on Books

Friday, March 2: Interview LaurenOliver at The Savvy Reader

Giveaway Time! (Canadian residents only)

As part of Pandemonium Club,HarperCollins Canada is generously offering up a copy of Delirium andPandemonium by Lauren Oliver to be awarded to one winner.

To Enter, be sure to leave a comment on each of the PandemoniumClub spots (listed above) on their respected Pandemonium Club posts(including this one) with your email address! Good luck!

Book Review: Allegiance by Cayla Kluver

2012-02-29T09:00:00.000-05:00

Series: Legacy#2

Publisher:Harlequin Teen

Genre: Fantasy

Page count: 490

Source: Receivedegalley via Netgalley

Release Date:February 28 2012

An eighteen-year-old queen in lovewith the enemy as their countries pass the point of noreturn... Bound to a man she cannot love, Queen Alera ofHytanica must forget Narian, the young man who holds her heart. ForNarian is destined to conquer Hytanica at the behest of his master,the powerful magic-user known as the Overlord. Alera doesn't trulybelieve Narian will fight against Hytanica-until Cokyrian troopsattack with Narian commanding the charge. Faced with thegreatest betrayal a heart can know, Alera must set aside personalfeelings and lead her kingdom through its darkest time. And when allhope, will and courage seem lost, she must find strength and rememberthat even the blackest night must have a dawn....

My Review

The world of Hytanica is amazing. The descriptions are lush and likeany good fantasy novel I found myself daydreaming what it would belike to run away there. I loved the idea of stealing away to ridehorses, long beautiful gowns and tiaras, and amazing dinner parties.It's what keeps me coming back time and time again to the genre andCyla Kluver does a great job setting it all up.

If only that was enough.

But if there's one thing I have no patience for is a weak femalelead. Maybe it's the feminist in me but it drives me mad and Alera isthe perfect example of this. I found her so incredibly flaky andannoying. I'm sorry but hiring a new maid and planning a dinner partyguest list does not a stressful day make. And I found her love forNarian irrational. It made me think of Elena's love for Stefan on TheVampire Diaries. At a certain point their actions are no longerunderstandable. I could go on about all the reasons I wasdisappointed with her but at the end of the day it comes down tothis. I did not believe she was this brave, independent woman all theother characters kept saying she was. Instead she made me want topull my hair out and throw the book against the wall.

I was underwhelmed by Legacy but decided to give Allegiance a chanceto change my mind. It didn't. Unfortunately, I don't think I will becontinuing with this series.

About the Author

Cayla Kluver is the author of LEGACY,coming June 28th, 2011 through HarlequinTEEN. LEGACY is the firstbook in a trilogy. Cayla spends her time singing, writing,reading, dancing, and goofing around. Her office is filled withtwinkly lights.

Similar Titles

Touch of Power by Maria V Snyder

Dragonswood by Janet Lee Carey

Graceling by Kristin Cashore

Blog Tour: Embrace by Jessica Shirvington

2012-02-28T07:00:00.000-05:00

Series: The Violet Eden Chapters #1

Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire

Genre: Fantasy, Paranormal

It starts with a whisper: “It’stime for you to know who you are…” Violet Eden dreadsher seventeenth birthday. After all, it’s hard to get too excitedabout the day that marks the anniversary of your mother’s death. Asif that wasn’t enough, disturbing dreams haunt her sleep and leaveher with very real injuries. There’s a dark tattoo weaving its wayup her arms that wasn’t there before. Violet is determinedto get some answers, but nothing could have prepared her for thetruth. The guy she thought she could fall in love with has beenkeeping his identity a secret: he’s only half-human—oh, and samegoes for her. A centuries-old battle between fallen angelsand the protectors of humanity has chosen its new warrior. It’s afight Violet doesn’t want, but she lives her life by two rules:don’t run and don’t quit. When angels seek vengeance and humansare the warriors, you could do a lot worse than betting on VioletEden…

My experience withyoung adult angel books has been...limited. I am very new to thissubsection of the paranormal genre. And the ones I have read areusually a little cheesy and predictable. So imagine my surprise whenI found myself pouring through Jessica Shirvington's Embrace.I loved the characters (especially Phoenix *swoon*), I love theaction and most of all I love the incredible amount of detail.Jessica clearly did her research with this one.

One of my biggestpet peeves with angel books so far has been the glossy over of thevery rich and intricate mythology that comes with them. Some titlesare dropped with the brief descriptions and there you go. Embracereally gets into the nitty gritty of the mythology and I couldn't getenough of it. Thankfully, however, Jessica offered to write a guestpost about her research into Angelology and it's use in Embrace.

Angels Have APecking Order

Researching forEMBRACE, I discovered the entire subject of Angelology to be trulyfascinating. In the end, I chose to go with the most popular theory,that there are 3 choirs of angels and within each choir, 3 ranks.

At the top of theangel hierarchy sit the Seraphim. They are the angels that aresupposed to burn with an all-consuming white flame and who performthe all-important role of maintaining the source of Existence withinthe physical world.

Following theSeraphim come the Cherubim, and Thrones. I always like thedescriptions of the Thrones – bringers of justice.

In the secondchoir are Powers, Dominations and Virtues. And in the third choir –Principalities, Archangels and Angels (guardians).

In writingEMBRACE, discovering each of these ranks and their purpose on earthwas what led to the development of my characters powers. Eachcharacter is specifically placed within a rank of angels and thengiven powers accordingly. For example: Griffin is parented by aSeraph angel, meaning he is a leader and his unique power is a mindpower (that of reading and delivering truth) to correlate with thedescription of the Seraphim’s function in the universe. It is agreat way of keeping order to the power pool!

Each angelic rankalso has a different appearance and different color that representthem and I found this really interesting. Any time I describe anangelic image, it relates back to this research in some way.Additionally, combining this research with things like the Chakra hasled me to the use of color as a representation of power and alsogemstones as a link to old mythology. For example: Phoenix’s hairis like opal – so black that it shimmers with purple and it catchesthe light exposing streaks of dazzling silver. First, I loved theidea of his hair being different, but also, it linked to thesignificance to his power, and his heritage in the story.

Basing the storyaround the bones of angel mythology and hierarchy gives me a solidstructure to use as my foundation. It anchors the story and gives medirection any time I think the story might be straying.

Also, it allowedme to develop one of the big mysteries within the series: what rankis Violet from?

Thanks for the great post Jessica!Makes me want to dive into the book all over again!! Be sure to addEmbrace and its sequel Enticeto your Goodreads shelves and check out the epic trailer while youwait for the book's release of March 6!

Book Review: Partials by Dan Wells

2012-02-27T09:00:00.000-05:00

Series: Partials#1

Publisher:Balzer & Bray

Genre: Dystopia

Page count: 472

Source: Receivedegalley via Netgalley.

Release Date:February 28 2012

Humanity is all but extinguishedafter a war with partials--engineered organic beings identical tohumans--has decimated the world’s population. Reduced to only tensof thousands by a weaponized virus to which only a fraction ofhumanity is immune, the survivors in North America have huddledtogether on Long Island. The threat of the partials is stillimminent, but, worse, no baby has been born immune to the disease inover a decade. Humanity’s time is running out. Whensixteen-year-old Kira learns of her best friend’s pregnancy, she’sdetermined to find a solution. Then one rash decision forces Kira toflee her community with the unlikeliest of allies. As she triesdesperately to save what is left of her race, she discovers that thesurvival of both humans and partials rests in her attempts to answerquestions of the war’s origin that she never knew to ask.

My Review

This is currently being heralded as one of the best books of theyear. And as a result I find myself on the outside looking in.

Don't get me wrong. Dan Wells is a talented writer. The descriptionwere vivid, the characters were well drawn and I loved the amount ofscientific detail that was included. I often find that many YA futuristic novels (especially dystopian) gloss over the scientificexplanations – either because they don't think their readers willunderstand or because it is scientifically invalid. The detail inPartials however made the story seem incredibly believable.

Where this book lost me though, was the lack of originality. As a fanof Battlestar Galatica and a long (and I mean long) time reader ofdystopia I didn't find anything unique about this novel. Everythingfelt incredibly predictable and recycled. I found myself picking outthings that distinctly reminded me of Battlestar Galatica, Wither,The Terminator, Article 5, 1984, The Handmaid's Tale... I could goon. I can't in good faith recommend this book when all these otheramazing books/shows have come before it.

If your new to dystopia then you will probably find this bookrefreshing and exciting, because like I said Dan Wells is a talentedwriter. However, for those who have been reading dystopia for awhilenow I find that this book doesn't add anything to an alreadyovercrowded genre.

About the Author

Dan Wells was born at a young age,killed a man in Reno just to watch him die, and ate the last mango inparis. Then he wrote this book

Article 5 by Kristen Simmons

Camp Wordsmith: Week 8 Check In

2012-02-25T12:32:00.001-05:00

Week: 8

Word Count: 14,114

Stage: First Draft

I was so close to hitting 15,000 this week!!!

I was pretty much alone all week so you would think I would've been able to get in more writing than usual. Instead however I spent way too much time watching Sherlock and Merlin. Turns out I need people around me to force me to write *blushes* I'm going to the library today though to get some more writing in. So perhaps I will update this post at the end of the day today.

There's not too much I can add about my writing experience this week but I did want to share with you one of my new favourite blogs, that of author Malinda Lo. She talks about a lot of different things, not just writing - from book recommendations to opinion pieces. She also posts her writing progress every day on her tumblr. I find it really encouraging to see her writing every day and it gives me inspiration to try and do the same.

Be sure to check in with Jen and Angel this week too!

Fangirl Friday: Harry Potter Marshmallow Maddness!

2012-02-24T11:31:00.001-05:00

Fangirl Friday is a weekly feature here at Hooked on Books, where I share a non bookish nerdy thing that I love. Could be movies, television, comics, DIY projects. Basically just anything I want to Fangirl over.

It's Friday Friday.... Sorry I couldn't help myself. For this week's Fangirl Friday I combined two of my favourite things (Sugar and Harry Potter) in a very amazing and epic mash up.

The lovely people at Random House Canada sent me a copy of Marshmallow Maddness. And though marshmallows themselves are pretty fantastic I knew I could make them even better by incorporating it into Fangirl Friday. I hosted a poll on the Facebook page over what fandom I should tackle and the response was unanimously Harry Potter.

Since this was my first time making marshmallows I decided to go simple and just tackle plain old vanilla and then venture on to chocolate. I read over the introductory chapter a couple times - it seemed overwhelming at first but after two or three readings I thought I had got the jist of it. Not that I want you to think it's a complicated process! it's actually surprisingly easy there's just a lot of new information all at once (especially for someone who's never made candy before).

So after some studying I assembled my ingredients

Cornstarch, icing sugar (not pictured), salt, vanilla extract, corn syrup, unflavoured powdered gelatin, sugar. (Add cocoa powder and instant espresso for the chocolate ones)

mmm unflavoured powdered gelatin

You also need an 8x8 baking pan, a saucepan, a stand mixer (although I tried it with a hand mixer and it still works), some spatulas and a candy thermometer.

After mixing my gelatin and boiling the sugar and corn syrup I mixed them together in the mixer for 10+ minutes. It started to fluff up really quickly and as a result it gets sticky really fast. My plan for the vanilla marshmallows was to make them into shapes with cookie cutters so I spread out the marshmallow in a bigger baking pan then recommended so I would have more to work with.

After cooling for six hours I cut them into shapes and with the help of some edible food markers (best invention ever!) they looked like this:


Harry, Hermoine, Draco, a Weasley sweater, 2 sorting hats and Dumbledore's beard.

Next up were the chocolate marshmallows. I wanted to do something different then shapes so I started to brainstorm all the different treats Harry and the gang eat throughout the books and my mind went to cauldron cakes. Instead of spreading this marshmallow mix out in a baking sheet I piped it into a muffin tin.


Covered in icing sugar coating and waiting to set...

These didn't turn out a pretty as I hoped but they were still pretty delicious! The coffee taste was stronger than I thought it would be so they ended up having a more mocha flavour. Nevertheless they were a huge hit for dessert that night.

At this point I ran out of gelatin so I couldn't make any more. But I did think up a few other Harry Potter themed ideas based on the recipes in this book:

Pumpkin Spice Marshmallows = Pumpkin Pasties
Salted Caramel Marshmallows = Butterbeer flavoured
Chocolate Marshmallows with chocolate chips = Chocolate frogs. This could also be Treacle Tart if you substitute the chocolate chips for Skor bits

Marshmallow Maddness was a really fun cookbook and allowed me to try something I would have never thought of doing before. The marshmallows were fresh and delicious and they only take about 20 minutes to put together. I totally recommend it - it can make for some interesting and unique desserts

Book Review: Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver

2012-02-23T09:09:00.000-05:00

Series: Delirium#2

Publisher: HarperTeen
Genre: Dystopia
Page count: 375pages
Source: Received ARC during the Ontario Book Blogger meet uo

Release Date:February 28 2012

I’m pushing aside the memory of mynightmare, pushing aside thoughts of Alex, pushingaside thoughts of Hana and my old school, push, push, push, likeRaven taught me to do.The old life is dead.But the old Lenais dead too.I buried her.I left her beyond a fence,behinda wall of smoke and flame.

My Review

Seriously. I don't even know where to start. The end of Delirium made me sob. And I mean sob. Pandemonium on the other hand made me walk around like a zombie, book clasped to my chest at 3 in the morning. This book kept me up until all hours of the night and has me checking the days on my calendar until Requiem.

My heart actually ached the entire time I was reading this book. It's almost completely focused on Lena, and though I missed Alex like crazy, it was nice to get to know her a little better. She's come so far and been through so much. In Delirium she came out of her shell. She learned to look past the rules and she fell in love. In Pandemonium we get to see her grow as a character. She becomes a lot more brave and a lot more independent. It made her not only someone you could cheer for but someone you could be proud of.

Lauren Oliver is an extremely talented writer and she has a special skills for never giving you a straight answer. This book kept me guessing and it was filled with twists, just like Delirium. The expression "its like the rug has been pulled out from beneath your feet" is the perfect example of how this book can make you feel. In addition it will also illicit a lot of strong emotional reactions. Both positive and negative. More than a few times, while reading it, the people around me caught me arguing with the book or mumbling to the characters.

The one thing that kept me from enjoying it as much as the first book was the non-linear timeline. The chapters alternated from past to present and I would have preferred a similar setup to Delirium, where the story unravels in a more natural fashion. However, this could totally be attributed to my own impatience and my desire to want to know what on earth is happening to all the characters.

I think it goes without saying at this point that Lauren Oliver has a way with words. She writes beautifully and is able to break your heart a little more each time. This is without a doubt a sequel that's as good as the first and a series that everyone needs to read.

About the Author

Lauren Oliver comesfrom a family of writers and so has always (mistakenly) believed thatspending hours in front of the computer every day, mulling over thedifference between “chortling” and “chuckling,” is normal.She has always been an avid reader.
She attended theUniversity of Chicago, where she continued to be as impractical aspossible by majoring in philosophy and literature. After college, sheattended the MFA program at NYU and worked briefly as the world’sworst editorial assistant, and only marginally better assistanteditor, at a major publishing house in New York. Her major careercontributions during this time were flouting the corporate dress codeat every possible turn and repeatedly breaking the printer.Before IFall is her first published novel.
She is deeplygrateful for the chance to continue writing, as she has never beenparticularly good at anything else.

Similar Titles

None. No one writes like Lauren Oliver.

Stay tuned next week for the Pandemonium Club's week long celebration of this long awaited sequel!

Book Review: Barking Mad by Jamieson Ridenhour

2012-02-22T11:30:00.000-05:00

Publisher: TypecastPublishing
Genre: Mystery, Paranormal
Page count: 174
Source:Received copy as part of Kismet blog tour

Release Date: June 6 2011

Order It

The year is 1931. The scene is werewolfishly classic Englishfare. And tonight the moon hangs as full as a royal pie plate in thisinaugural Reginald Spiffington mystery when the none tooobsequious playboy, Reggie, sets out for a delectably longweekend at Huffsworthy Hall to assist his dear friend, Moony,in his failing endeavor to take the hand of his lady-love and topartake in the culinary talents of the genius chef running thekitchen. With no one reason more important than the next, he ll beoff straight after breakfast. Reggie s itinerary for theweekend turns abruptly less toothsome when he decides to solve theunexpected murder of another of the Hall s guests, a guest whoseluggage is secretly packed full of nefarious plans. Soon, allHuffsworthy s inhabitants are potential suspects, including Reggies saucy, quick-witted love-interest, Mimsy Borogrove.Aided by his invaluable valet, Pelham, and armed only with hisknowledge of detective novels and a newly acquired set of keener,canine senses, Reggie sets out to find the killer beforeanother meal falls to ruin

My Review
When Isigned up for the blog tour for this book I wasn't 100% what I wasgetting myself in to. I knew that it was a paranormal novel (the maincharacter is a werewolf after all) and I knew there was a murdermystery. I did not know that this novel was the combination of two ofmy favourite genres – the paranormal novel and the cozy mystery. Iwould have never thought to put these two together but JamiesonRidenhour makes itwork.

The mystery in this novellawas well crafted. One of the main ways I judge the quality of amystery novel is by how predictable it is. While reading BarkingMadI was continuously trying to guess who the murder was. It seemed likeI had a new guess every other pages. It wasn't until right near theend that I had a clear idea of what had happened. That's what I calla good mystery!

Inaddition to the mystery Ridenhourhas created an amazing cast of character. They're all so detailed andunique. They all have such strong personalities that you can't helpbut get to know them incredibly well. I especially loved Reggieand Pelham.Their chemistry is perfect!Morethan once the dialogue between them made me laugh out loud.

JamiesonRidenhourhas written a story that is intelligent and witty. He's written prosein a distinct style, that reminds me of Alan Bradley and thrown insome werewolves for good measure. It was a short book but everythingyou could want is there – humour, mystery, interesting twists,great dialogue. I wouldn't have added or changed a thing.

About the AuthorJamieson Ridenhour is the authorof Barking Mad: A Reginald Spiffington Mystery,available from Typecast Publishing in June of 2011. He is the editorof the Valancourt edition of Sheridan Le Fanus 1872 lesbian vampirenovella Carmilla, as well as creator of the award-winningshort fairy-tale horror film Cornerboys. The South Carolinanative now lives in Bismarck, ND, where he writes poetry about moviemonsters and murder-mysteries with werewolves in them. He also playswicked lead guitar with Bismarck-based rock and roll band Blind Mice,lectures on vampires and Charles Dickens (though not at the sametime), and generally frolics on the plains. He lives with his wifeGwyn and their two children Ian and Eva.

Similar TitlesTheSweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley
The No 1 LadiesDetective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith
Chocolate Chip CookieMurder by Joanne Fluke

Check out my stop on the Barking Mad blog tour for your chance to win a signed copy, collectable cards, the audiobook and more!

Barking Mad Blog Tour + 2 Giveaways!

2012-02-22T01:00:00.000-05:00

Welcome to the Hooked on Books stop of the Barking Mad tour!!

BarkingMad is a new and fantastic novel that combines the paranormal genre with the traditional mystery.Want to know more? Here's a brief synopsis:

Theyear is 1931. The scene is werewolfishly classic English fare. Andtonight the moon hangs as full as a royal pie plate in this inauguralReginald Spiffington mystery when the none too obsequious playboy,Reggie, sets out for a delectably long weekend at Huffsworthy Hall toassist his dear friend, Moony, in his failing endeavor to take thehand of his lady-love and to partake in the culinary talents of thegenius chef running the kitchen. With no one reason more importantthan the next, he ll be off straight after breakfast. Reggie sitinerary for the weekend turns abruptly less toothsome when hedecides to solve the unexpected murder of another of the Hall sguests, a guest whose luggage is secretly packed full of nefariousplans. Soon, all Huffsworthy s inhabitants are potential suspects,including Reggie s saucy, quick-witted love-interest, MimsyBorogrove. Aided by his invaluable valet, Pelham, and armed only withhis knowledge of detective novels and a newly acquired set of keener,canine senses, Reggie sets out to find the killer before another mealfalls to ruin

Need more convincing? Check out thetrailer

If you want to know more, be sure to check out my review, but as an additional celebration the author, JamiesonRidenhour, has stopped by to tell us what's up next for hischaracters and his writing. Now let's all give him a big Hooked on Books welcome!!

“Christa has asked me what’s next for Reggie, Pelham, Mimsy,and the rest of the folks from Barking Mad. The story is wrapped upnicely at the end, but there are some obvious doors left open for thefuture. How does Reggie handle his new changes? Do things work outwith him and Mimsy? What’s up with Reynaldo MacGregor?

There willcertainly be more Reggie. Ideally, there will be a series of ReginaldSpiffington mysteries. I can’t give details on the second novel,but I do know most of the story, and can say that it will addresssome unresolved questions from Barking Mad, feature some familiarfaces, and introduce a few wholly remarkable new characters. Thetentative title right now is Mad Dogs and Englishmen.
Unfortunately, I can’t give you specifics on a timeline for thatnovel. I’m working on two other projects that will come first: acollection of short fiction that will probably come out later thisyear, and a YA novel set in Victorian London. The YA novel is abigger task than Barking Mad, being nearly twice as long, but it hasliving corpses and a mad inventor so that’s okay.

And the good news for Reggie fans—even though the next novel maybe a couple of years away, there will be some more Reggie sooner thanthat. You are hearing it here first: my short storycollection willfeature a brand new Reginald Spiffington story! Hoo-rah, I hear youshout, and well you should. I’m pretty excited to go spend somemore time with Reggie and Pelham. It’s a good place to live,Reggie’s head, and I look forward to moving back in for a fewthousand words or so. I’ll keep everyone updated on my website andFacebook page. And of course, if you really need a fix of Reggie, youcan always go follow him on Twitter. He shows up there a couple oftimes a week…”

I can't waitfor the next book in this series. I need another Reggie fix! And a YAnovel with living corpses and a mad inventor? Sign me up! There isdefinitely exciting times ahead for Mr. Ridenhour.

As a bonuscelebration, Jamieson is offering up a special giveaway to those whostop by the tour: A signed copy of Barking Mad, 4 unique signedcharacter cards and a DVD. It's open US/Canada. See fullcontest rules here. All you need to do is fill out the Rafflecopterbelow!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

And the fundoesn't stop there! (Seriously, I can't believe how amazing this blogtour is.) The lovely people at Kismet tour are offering up a giveawayof the Barking Mad audiobook. Head on over to YouTube to see a short message from Pelham and answer the question “What would you do ifyou suddenly found out your employer was a werewolf?” in thecomments below the video! Good luck!

Big thanks toJamieson Ridenhour for stopping by the blog and Kismet Tours fororganizing this amazing event. Be sure to check out all the otherstops on the tour and add Barking Mad to your Goodreads shelf now!

Monday, February 6th - Reels Well Blog
Tuesday, February 7th - A Casual's Reader Blog*
Wednesday, February 8th - Evie Bookish
Thursday, February 9th - My Bookish Way's*
Friday, February 10th - Bewitched Bookworms
Monday, February 13th - I Just wanna Sit Here and Read!
Tuesday, February 14th - Books and *Things
Wednesday, February 15th - Books and Other Creative Adventures*
Thursday, February 16th - Sweeping Me
Friday, February 17th - Reviews by Molly
Monday, February 20th - Unabridged Andra
Tuesday, February 21st -*Buried*in Books
Wednesday, February 22nd - Hooked on Books
Thursday, February 23rd -Glorious Books
Friday, February 24th - *A Cupcake and A Latte*

Book Review: The Statistical Probability of Love At First Sight by Jennifer E Smith

2012-02-21T00:11:00.001-05:00

Publisher: Poppy/Little Brown

Genre: Contemporary
Page count: 256
Source: Borrowed copy

Release date: January 2 2012

Today should be one of the worstdays of seventeen-year-old Hadley Sullivan's life. She'sstuck at JFK, late to her father's second wedding, which is takingplace in London and involves a soon to be step-motherthat Hadley's never even met. Then she meets the perfectboy in the airport's cramped waiting area. His name is Oliver, he'sBritish, and he's in seat 18C. Hadley's in 18A. Twistsof fate and quirks of timing play out in this thoughtful novel aboutfamily connections, second chances and first loves. Set over a24-hour-period, Hadley and Oliver's story willmake you believe that true love finds you when you're least expectingit.

My Review
I'm honestly not sure I can properly express how much I loved thisbook. It was clever and funny in all the right places. It was able toeffortlessly make my heart melt and break and from the moment Iturned the last page I immediately wanted to turn around and read itagain.

To start off with there's Oliver. He is an amazing boy. Perfect inso many ways but yet totally believable. I would very much liketo marry him - I'm laying claim to him now. I expected the romancebetween him and Hadley to be rather cheesy (it does take place in a24-hour period) but it ended up being incredibly realistic. Theirrandom meeting grows naturally into something more deep andmeaningful. It didn't take a huge stretch of the imagination to thinkit could actually happen.

The most thoughtful thing, for me, about this book, however, wasn'tthe relationship between Hadley and Oliver. It was Hadley’srelationship with her father. I thought it was incredibly touchingand it felt so deep and authentic. I think a lot of people will beable to relate to Hadley’s internal struggle and the ups and downsof trying to heal when your family is thrown through a loop.

This is a beautiful novel and one that will stay on my shelves foryears to come. Smart, funny, clever, romantic. The StatisticalProbability of Love at First Sight is a beautifully heart warmingbook. Think of your favourite romantic comedy (film) and double howgood it makes you feel.

About the Author
Jennifer E. Smith is the author ofthe three young adult novels: The Comeback Season, You Are Here, andThe Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight. She earned hermaster's degree in creative writing from the University of St.Andrews in Scotland, and currently works as an editor in New YorkCity.

Camp Wordsmith: Dialogue

2012-02-18T10:29:00.000-05:00

Week: 6
Word count: 12,554
Stage: First Draft

Welcome to another update on Camp Wordsmith!! I seem to be staying pretty steady at 2,000ish words a week. This week I definitely want to improve on that. Make it at least 3,000 a week. But either way it's still solid progress so I won't complain.

Anyways, this week we're going to talk about dialogue. To be quite honest when I was younger (like high school younger) I wrote HORRIBLE dialogue. And I knew it too. I still have the early draft of a manuscript I started where I was going to try and have no dialogue, just so I could avoid how horrible I was. This project didn't get very far. If I really think about this problem with dialogue it was probably one of the top three reasons I convinced myself I couldn't be a writer.

Believe it or not though it was university that taught me different. I took Global Development Studies which meant I had to do A LOT of presentations - and I am petrified of public speaking. So not only did I practice reading my papers/research a million times, I also learned to write them in a way that was easy to read. In a way that would just roll off your tongue. That skill than transfered over to regular essays and it was guaranteeded that whenever I had a new assignment you would be able to hear me reading it out loud to myself.

So when I decided I wanted to write again (thank you NaNoWriMo and the blogging community) I kept reading things out loud to myself. If I wrote a string of dialogue I would read it out loud as I was writing it and I would read it in full one or two times after it was finished. My current WIP has a lot of dialogue and I think I've rose to meet the challenge head on. I definitely think I've improved since my high school days. It may not be "great" dialogue - but hey it's only my first draft. I've got plenty of opportunities to read it out loud again and again. Maybe I'll get someone to read it along with me.

Do you have any advice for people writing dialogue? Do you struggle with it? Is there anything that really makes or breaks the dialogue in a story for you?

Fangirl Friday: Comic Book Shoes

2012-02-16T22:38:00.001-05:00

Fangirl Friday is a weekly feature here at Hooked on Books, where I share a non bookish nerdy thing that I love. Could be movies, television, comics, DIY projects. Basically just anything I want to Fangirl over.

Recently I came across these shoes on the totally awesome website - Cut Out and Keep. If you like neat craft ideas definitely check this site out! I haven't had a chance to make these myself yet but can guarantee I'll be rocking a pair when spring comes.

To make them you'll need:

- A pair of smooth flats

- mod podge

- paint bursh

- scissors

- comic book of your choosing
(I personally recommend Star Trek)

Working from the heel forward, cut out images from the comic book and arrange them on the shoes.After making sure the image fits nicely on to the shoe, apply mod podge over top. Apply liberally. Continue until shoes is covered.

Cut out and Keep recommends putting down "scenes" first to form a base. Then you can layer specific images/words over top.

Once you have applied all your images cover the whole shoe in a layer of mod podge. Let dry for 15-20 minutes and then repeat 2-3 more times. Once they're completely dry then you're good to go!

Voila! Finished product!

I am so excited to make a pair of these for myself. I'll be sure to post lots of pictures when they're done!

Let me know what you think of the comic book shoes and what comic(s) you would choose if you were going to make a pair!

Book Review: Fever by Lauren DeStefano

2012-02-16T10:34:00.000-05:00

Series: Chemical Garden Trilogy #2

Publisher: Simon Pulse
Genre: Dystopia
Page count: 381
Source: Received ARC from publisher in exchange for an honest review

Release Date: February 21 2012

*Warning. This review may containspoilers for Wither (Book 1 in the Chemical Garden Trilogy. Read at your ownrisk.*

Running away brings Rhine and Gabrielright into a trap, in the form of a twisted carnival whose ringmistress keepswatch over a menagerie of girls. Just as Rhine uncovers what plans await her,her fortune turns again. With Gabriel at her side, Rhine travels through anenvironment as grim as the one she left a year ago - surroundings that mirrorher own feelings of fear and hopelessness. The two are determined to get toManhattan, to relative safety with Rhine’s twin brother, Rowan. But the roadthere is long and perilous - and in a world where young women only live to agetwenty and young men die at twenty-five, time is precious. Worse still, theycan’t seem to elude Rhine’s father-in-law, Vaughn, who is determined to bringRhine back to the mansion...by any means necessary.

My Review
The Chemical Garden trilogy continues and without a doubt it is better than ever!

Now if you remember my review of Wither, I wasn't overly sold on this trilogy. Primarily because the hype monster built this book up to such outlandish proportions there was almost no way it could live up to its reputation. Because of this I went into Fever with my expectations lowered. I was happy to find that I enjoyed the story of Fever significantly more than that of Wither and noticed a significant improvement in the quality of the narrative and characters.

For starters, I loved the conflict and imagery in this story significantly more than the last. Wither was limited to the world of Linden's mansion and while it was an interesting setting there was only so much it could do. Fever opens up a whole new world for the reader - exposing the reader to the dysoptian setting Rhine grew up and helping us learn more about what the world has become. This did more than just create a more dazzling world to read about, it also helped explain many of the motivations of the characters, which is something I'm always obsessed with.

I also felt like Rhine has significantly grown as a character. In Wither I found her kind of flaky and always in need of saving. In Fever she was stronger. She took action for herself. She become a force to reckoned with and I finally felt myself bonding with her. Unfortunately, however, my feelings towards Gabriel remain the same. I find him a complete blank slate and he spends much of Fever out of the way. Further proving to me that he really doesn't need to be there.

I still gave so many questions - particualrly about this virus. How does a virus target by age/gender? Is it really a virus in the traditional sense? etc etc. But I'm hoping questions like that are addressed in book three (which I am now eagerly awaiting). Just like Rhine, Lauren DeStefano has really grown with this book. She's had a chance to stretch her creative muscle and the results are something to be admired.

About the Author
Lauren DeStefano (pronounced: de STEFF ano) graduated Albertus MagnusCollege in New Haven, CT in 2007. Her debut novel, WITHER, the first in TheChemical Garden Trilogy, published by Simon & Schuster BFYR, is out now.

Book Review: Drowning Instinct by Ilsa J Bick

2012-02-15T09:00:00.000-05:00

Publisher: LernerPublishing Group

Genre: Contemporary
Page count: 352
Source: Received egalley via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Release Date: February 1 2012

There are storieswhere the girl gets her prince, and they live happily ever after. (This is notone of those stories.) Jenna Lord's first sixteen years were not exactly afairytale. Her father is a controlling psycho and her mother is a drunk. Sheused to count on her older brother—until he shipped off to Afghanistan. Andthen, of course, there was the time she almost died in a fire. There arestories where the monster gets the girl, and we all shed tears for his innocentvictim. (This is not one of those stories either.) Mitch Anderson is manythings: A dedicated teacher and coach. A caring husband. A man with acertain...magnetism. And there are stories where it's hard to be sure who's aprince and who's a monster, who is a victim and who should live happily everafter. (These are the most interesting stories of all.)

My Review
I've been sitting on this review for awhile now. Flip flopping on how I really felt about this book. I'm still not 100% what my feelings are but I think I've formed enough coherent thoughts to put together a review.

Let me start out by saying there is A LOT going on in this story. I may argue that there is too much going on. Jenna Lord is a burn victim, she's a cutter, she gets molested, she's the new girl at school. there's an affair with the teacher. Crises after crises. So many bad things happen to this girl I'm amazed she's still standing. I had a hard time trying to keep all the traumas straight, I don't know how she did.

In addition to this (or perhaps because of it) I had a really hard time connecting with Jenna. I didn't find her all that likable and had a really hard tome relating to her. She just didn't feel like a real person to me - it felt like she was trying too hard to fit into all these ideas of what an emotionally damaged teenager should be. I should have been able to empathize at her at the very least but I felt like a total Ice Queen.

So based on all these criticism you would think that I didn't like this book - but honestly the drama was heart pounding. I couldn't put it down. I read the whole thing cover to cover in less than 24 hours. I found myself really wanting to know what happened next and there were some really great twists. I especially loved the whole plot line with her brother in Afghanistan! Amazing!

So here I remain. Heart divided in regards to this novel. If you like drama and suspense then there's a chance you'll like this. However, if well developed characters are really important to you than this one may irritate you. Honestly, it could go either way. If you're at all interested by the premise than I say just go for it!

About the Author
Ilsa J. Bick is a child psychiatrist, as well as a film scholar, surgeonwannabe, former Air Force major, and anauthor of dozens of short stories and novels. She is the author of the YA novels Draw the Dark and Ashes. Ilsalives with her family and other furry creaturesin rural Wisconsin.

Book Review: The Wolf Gift by Anne Rice

2012-02-14T10:34:00.000-05:00

Publisher: Knopf

Genre: UrbanFantasy, Paranormal

Page count: 404

Source: Receivedcopy from publisher in exchange for an honest review

Release Date:February 14 2012

The time is the present. Theplace, the rugged coast of northern California. A bluff high abovethe Pacific. A grand mansion full of beauty and tantalizing historyset against a towering redwood forest. A young reporter onassignment from the San Francisco Observer. . . an older woman,welcoming him into her magnificent, historic family home that he hasbeen sent to write about and that she must sell with some urgency . .. A chance encounter between two unlikely people . . . an idyllicnight—shattered by horrific unimaginable violence. . .The young maninexplicably attacked—bitten—by a beast he cannot see in therural darkness . . . A violent episode that sets in motion aterrifying yet seductive transformation as the young man, caughtbetween ecstasy and horror, between embracing who he is evolving intoand fearing who—what—he will become, soon experiences the thrillof the wolf gift.

MyReview

Allother paranormal writers step aside. This is how you write a werewolfnovel. Anne Rice does werewolves right. They're big, beastly,scary and most of all intimidating. It seems like we've forgottenthat recently.

AnneRice explores a lot of interesting concepts in her latest novel.Instead of your traditional werewolves – more beast than human –Anne Rice crafts a Man-Wolf. A creature that is both consciouslyhuman and beast at the same time. I thought this was an interestingand exciting premise and it opened up the story to some greaterconcepts. Such as what one would do when in the possession of so muchpower? How would it affect your decisions? How would you interactwith others? I really enjoyed this take on the werewolf and thoughtit was a lot more detailed and thoughtful than I expected.

If the deeper concepts weren't enough,however, this book is also packed with some serious action. Anne Ricetakes all those moral questions and applies them to a sort of “maskedvigilante” style of character. In many ways The Wolf Gift is likeBatman meets the Werewolf. I'm a huge fan of superhero fiction andthe ideas and morals embedded in those stories, so I was incrediblydrawn to this idea of the Man-Wolf being a defender of the people andexploring what right he had to take on this role.

I do have one complaint and that is the women in this book arejust horrible. Particularly Rueben's love interest. I found her vapid,annoying and for the most part pretty useless. She didn't really doanything to move the plot along. In addition her actions were soirrational. Especially the way she falls in love with him in a matterof days, knowing next to nothing about him except that he's awerewolf. What finally sealed the deal on my dislike of Laura was thefollowing lines, “He drove Laura south to get her Jeep and the bulkof her possessions which amounted to so few boxes that he was kindof amazed. Half of them were filled with flannel nightgowns.” Halfof her possessions are flannel nightgowns? Who is this woman? Who hasthat many nightgowns? It was just one of those things I couldn't getpass and I could have done without her character all together.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading The Wolf Gift, it was the type of werewolf novel I had been waiting for. Complaints about the female characters aside, I found it to be extremely well put together and significantly more deep than I ever thought it could be. A must read for any fan of the paranormal.

Aboutthe Author

Anne Rice is a best-selling American authorof gothic, supernatural, historical, erotica, and later religiousthemed books. Best known for her Vampire Chronicles, her prevailingthematical focus is on love, death, immortality, existentialism, andthe human condition. She was married to poet Stan Rice for41 years until his death in 2002. Her books have sold nearly 100million copies, making her one of the most widely read authors inmodern history. She uses the pseudonym Anne Rampling foradult-themed fiction (i.e., erotica) and A.N. Roquelaure forfiction featuring sexually explicit sado-masochism.

SimilarTitles

Nightshade by Andrea Cremer

Bitten by Kelley Armstrong

Dark Lover by J R Ward

Book Review: Arcadia Awakens by Kai Meyers

2012-02-13T10:00:00.000-05:00

Series: Arcadia #1

Publisher: Balzer & Bray
Genre: Mythology, Action, Supernatural
Page count: 451
Source: Received ARC from publisher in exchange for an honest review

Release Date: February 14 2012

To Rosa Alcantara, the exotic world ofSicily, with its network of Mafia families and its reputation for murder andintrigue, is just that—exotic and wholly unknown. But when her life in Brooklynbegins to fall apart, she must travel there, to her family’s ancestral home,where centuries of family secrets await her. Once there, Rosa falls head overheels for Alessandro Carnevare, the son of a Sicilian Mafia family, whosehandsome looks and savage grace both fascinate and unsettle her. But theirfamilies are sworn enemies, and her aunt and sister believe Alessandro is onlyusing Rosa to infiltrate the Alcantara clan. And when Rosa encounters a tigerone night—a tiger with very familiar eyes—she can no longer deny that neitherthe Carnevares nor the Alcantaras are what they seem. Hidden caves, dangerousbeasts roaming the hills, and a history of familial bloodlust mean that Rosacan’t trust anyone. Torn between loyalty to her family and love for theirmortal enemy, Rosa must make the hardest decision of her life: stay in Sicilywith her new love…or run as far and as fast as she can.

My Review
There are so many beautiful things about this novel. Not Hollywood beautiful, i.e overdone with glitz and glam. A real authentic, gritty sort of beautiful. A diamond in the rough kind of novel.

This novel takes place in Europe, Sicily, to be exact. Right off the bat, this was a major plus for Arcadia Awakens. It gave it an exotic and gritty feel, that just can't be replicated in a North American setting. Since the story centers strongly around the mob, it could have easily taken in place in New York or New Jersey but benefited greatly from a setting that could tie the story directly with ancient history. The history was also something unique and exciting. Instead of focusing on more commonly known mythology like the Greek gods, Kai Meyers brings us into the world of Arcadians. It was something I had never read about before and something I definitely wanted to research further upon finishing.

The characters that make up this story were all very interesting. My initial fear, was that because they were all mobsters they would fall into some of the more typical, comical stereotypes. Thankfully, this was not the case. There was a lot of depth to the main cast of characters and I found them quite realistic. Despite the fact that I enjoyed almost all the characters in this book, I still have some reservations about Rosa. I don't dislike her but I never reached the point where I really warmed up to her. At times she was incredibly irrational and at other times I found her motivations really unclear. But it could just be me.

Overall, Arcadia Awakens is a really unique book. It brings something new and unexpected to the YA landscape. Mixing an interesting setting, with an unusual cast of characters (the mob) and adding a dash of mythology was just the right recipe for this stunning novel. I'm looking forward to the rest of the series.

About the Author
With millions of books sold worldwide, Kai Meyer is one of Germany's mostsuccessful authors. His novels have been translated into 27 languages includingEnglish, Spanish, French, Italian, Japanese, Russian and Chinese. Kai Meyer wasborn in 1969 in northern Germany. Kai wrote his first novel in his early 20s,and it was published when he was just 24 years old. He has been a full-timenovelist since 1995. To date, Kai has written nearly 50 books – some foradults, some for teenagers. Kai Meyer lives in Westphalia near the Rhine inGermany.

In My Mailbox: February 12 2012

2012-02-11T21:20:00.000-05:00

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by the Story Siren, where we can share what books found a new home with us this week!

I haven't done an In My Mailbox post in forever!! This is actually my first In My Mailbox of 2012!

This week was crazy busy and I got a ton of books. I'm still reeling from all the great events - from the Razorbill launch party, to the Random House Blogger Love event. I feel totally spoiled.

Last week I got to attend the launch party of The Way We Fall by Megan Crewe. While there I got s signed copy of the book, a bookmark, a pen (not pictured) and a cute little "Way We Fall" hand sanitizer. Make sure you check out my full recap of the event here.

The same day of the launch I picked up Dash and Lily's Book of Dares by David Leviathan and Rachel Cohn from BMV and was given Dragonswood by Janet Lee Carey (from Angel of Mermaid Visions). The next day I went back to that same BMV and found issues 1, 3 & 5 of Scott Pilgrim by Bryan Lee O'Malley.

Throughout the week I also received a number of books for review:

The Darkening Dream by Andy Gavin (from the author)

Triggers by Robert J Sawyer (from Penguin Canada)
The Wolf Gift by Anne Rice (from Random House Canada)

Marshmallow Madness by Shauna Sever (from Random House Canada)

On Wednesday I attended the launch of Razorbill Canada (big thanks to Brenna for letting me be her +1!). While there I picked up a copy of Virals by Kathy Reichs and an awesome Razorbill t-shirt.

My crazy week ended with a visit to Random House Canada for a Blogger Love party! I received a whole bag of wonderful goodies, including the following books:

One Good Hustle by Billie Livingston

Bedbugs by Ben H Winters (which I've already read and loved. Read my review here)
Someone Else's Life by Katie Dale
One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish by Dr Seuss

Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami

While at Random House I also had the amazing opportunity to meet Erin Morgenstern (The Night Circus), Ami McKay (The Virgin Cure) and Paula McLain (The Paris Wife). I already have a signed copy of The Night Circus but I did get signed copies of The Virgin Cure and The Paris Wife. I am still star struck from meeting these amazing ladies!

Last but not least I also borrowed two books this week.

The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E Smith (from Wendy of Cupcake and a Latte)

Masque of the Red Death by Bethany Griffin (from Nicole of All I Ever Read)

I also just had to include my very steamy issue of Entertainment Weekly (Damon *swoon*) and my awesome Darth Maul 3D glasses! They're too cool not to share!

Huge Thank You to Penguin Canada, Random House Canada, Andy Gavin, Angel, Wendy, Nicole, and everyone who helped make my week so fantastic!!

What was in your mailbox?

Camp Wordsmith: Weekend Update!!

2012-02-11T12:50:00.001-05:00

I have undertaken an adventure for 2012, alongside fellow bloggers Angel (Mermaid Visions) and Jen (Almost Grown Up). Were each going to write a novel and we're going to track our progress through these weekly updates. We'll be checking in every Saturday with our word counts, and story updates as well as discussions on craft/inspiration.

Week: 5

Word Count: 10,253

Stage: First Draft

I have officially passed the 10,000 word mark and I'm not going to lie it feels pretty darn great. I (once again) did not get as much writing as I wanted done. This week was crazy - Razorbill launch on Wednesday, went to a lecture on Thursday, Star Wars last night and I am just minutes away from heading out the door for the Random House CA blogger party. I'm actually pretty impressed I made it to 10,000 words with all that going on.

This coming week is pretty crazy too. But a little less crazy than this past one. I've discovered I like writing in the public library so I may try there again. Although I'm not sure I can bring coffee in there and that may be a deal breaker. I'll have to go investigating tomorrow.

My goal for this week is to make it to 5,000 words. I think it's totally possible as long as I make use of tomorrow (Sunday) because I have absolutely nothing planned but a trip to the Laundromat.

Fangirl Friday: Celebrating Nerdlike (The Valentines Day Edition)

2012-02-09T23:27:00.001-05:00

So one day you may meet a boy/girl and you may find that you really enjoy each other's company. And then you may fall into Nerdlike and later Nerdlove. If you should find yourself in this situation than you may also find that you want to express your feeling to this person with chocolate, stuffed bears and cheesy cards. If you are experiencing these urges you're in luck! There's a whole day dedicated to this! And its next week!!

If Valentines Day isn't really your thing, not to worry. I've compiled a selection of nerdy Valentines cards/gifts that can make this overly commercial holiday a little more fun. Let's call it "Celebrate Nerdlike Day". I have divided this post into 2 categories - Cards and Gifts.

First the Valentines. Remember when you were in elementary school and it was fun to get those corny cartoon Valentines? (Think I Cho-cho-choose you with a picture of a train). Well I want to bring those back - geek style. I've scoured Pinterest, Tumblr, and Google the last few days and found some excellent selections for you to give to your friends and loved ones.

Though I love all the things in this post, I think my personal favourites are these Star Wars valentines. They are so adorable. The whole set is available for free at starwars.com. You just need a printer and paper. No more excuses.

If your loved one aren't Star Wars fans (Seriously? They aren't?) not to worry. I've also found some great Harry Potter and Skyrim Valentines for you to hand out!

Now that you've got cards covered, it's time to think about gifts. When it comes to "Celebrate Nerdlike Day" you can't go wrong with your three standards - Flowers, chocolate and stuffed creatures. If you head on over to my favourite nerdy sites, Think Geek, you'll find that they've got you covered with some interesting twists on your traditional gifts (all pictures link to Think Geek page). *disclaimer: I am a Think Geek affiliate. I get a small comission whenever you purchase something through a link on my blog. That money goes back into this blog in the form of giveaways for you!*

Instead of real flowers...why not give your sweetheart some 8-bit flowers! They're guaranteed never to wilt or die!

And instead of regular chocolates, why not a Han Solo Carbonite chocolate? He's putting the sexy back in chocolate...

And last but not least, instead of the traditional teddy bear why not a Tribble? (Seriously if someone gets me one of these I promise to be your friend forever!)

These and other awesome Valentine's gifts can all be found on Think Geek. Just click on this handy banner.

I hope you all have a happy "Celebrate Nerdlike Day" next Tuesday!

Book Review: Scarlet by A.C Gaughen

2012-02-09T10:57:00.000-05:00

Publisher:Walker Books

Genre:Historical-Fiction, Myth-Retelling

Page count: 304

Source: Receivedegalley via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Release Date:February 14 2012

Posing as one of Robin Hood’sthieves to avoid the wrath of the evil Thief Taker Lord Gisbourne,Scarlet has kept her identity secret from all of Nottinghamshire.Only the Hood and his band know the truth: the agile thief posing asa whip of a boy is actually a fearless young woman with a secretpast. Helping the people of Nottingham outwit the corrupt Sheriff ofNottingham could cost Scarlet her life as Gisbourne closes in. It’sonly her fierce loyalty to Robin—whose quick smiles and sharptemper have the rare power to unsettle her—that keeps Scarlet goingand makes this fight worth dying for.

My Review
If you're anything like me you loved the old Robin Hood Disney movie. You know the one where Robin was a fox and Little John was a bear? And if that doesn't come to mind how about Robin Hood Men in Tights? Both are two of my favourite movies and amazing re-tellings of one of my favourite tales. What was missing from these versions, however, was the grit, gore and action that was sure to have been the reality for the real life Robin Hood (whoever he may have been). A.C. Gaughen's take on this classic tale filled my need for more action and excitement and it didn't stop there.

Another thing that always bothered me about the original (and the Disney version) was Maid Marian. This girl is about as useful as Princess Peach. What this story needed was a strong female character. Someone for girls to relate to. Someone they could imagine themselves being. Scarlet has become just that character for me. She's brave, she tough, she's able to take care of herself (more or less), she's loyal. She throws knives! She is one kickass lady.

However, these much needed additions to the story were not the only reasons I loved it. It was beautiful writing. Descriptive and captivating it captured my attention right from the start. The main characters are all very likeable and the story is a solid one - it draws strongly on the original but also adds its own unique elements and characters. There is, of course, a love story, but unlike many YA novels, it does not take over the story. It's not even a central focus point in my opinion. It's there and it's something the characters need to deal with but first there are more important things to get to. Like saving peoples lives!

I highly recommend this book, especially if you're already a fan of Robin Hood. As far as my research (*cough* Twitter *cough*) suggests this is a standalone. Which is nice to see in the sea of series that are out there now. The story doesn't wrap up in a neat little bow (which is what made think there would be a sequel) but in many ways the not knowing makes it better. You never know what exactly happens to Robin Hood in the original tale and that doesn't lessen the story in any way. It just enhances the mystery and excitement.

About the Author

A.C. Gaughen is shamelessly addicted tostaying up far too late (it feels like stealing time), diet coke (itburns so good), Scotland (stupid country stole her heart and won'tgive it back. Interpol has been ineffective for prosecution) andthieves (so maybe she's not that mad at Scotland).

Entwined by Heather Dixon

Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister by Gregory Maguire

Jumping into the world of GLBT Fiction

2012-02-08T10:56:00.000-05:00

As you may have heard, Prop 8, the ban on gay marriage in California, was overturned yesterday being ruled unconstitutional. Can I just say - FINALLY! In my celebration over this milestone event I decided it was also finally time to write my post of GLBT Fiction that I've been sitting on. Despite the fact that this is a speculative fiction blog, I will always reserve the write to talk about book that are important to me. Speculative fiction or not.

GLBT literature (specifically YA) is a perfect example of books that are important to me. Why? I couldn't even begin to count all the reasons. What about the fact that many people come out in their teens? Or how difficult it can be to come out to your friends/family, not knowing what their reaction will be? Or later on, the bullying and the discrimination that is the unfortunate reality for many of us? Or (to look at the other end of the spectrum) the sense of community and celebration? The reasons go on and on.

I have my own personal reasons for caring about YA with GLBT characters, not least of which is that I'm currently writing my own "Gay YA" novel. In my efforts to research my novel I've come across a lot of great resources and recommendations and I don't want to keep them all to myself.

For now I'm going to share with you the list of GLBT YA books that have been recommended to me and I'd love if you could add to the list. But as I get a little more organized I'm going to make a new page for my blog and compile all the resources there. I'm hoping it'll help other people who are looking for similar information or who just want to read more GLBT fiction but don't know where to start.

Shine by Lauren Myracle
This one has been in the news a lot lately (you all remember the National Book Awards craziness) but even without all that its definitely something you should be checking out.

Boy Meets Boy by David Levithan
I'm currently reading this one and I love it. David Levithan is a genius.

The Bermudez Triangle by Maureen Johnson
This one was recommended to me by Brenna (Ever After Esther) and Angel (Mermaid Vision) and they're never wrong!

Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green & David Levithan
This is John Green + David Levithan. Double the genius. Double the amazing.

Kissing Kate by Lauren Myracle
Here's Lauren Myracle again. She's one talented woman.

Hero by Perry Moore
I got so many recommendations for this book. I've even seen Eric of Quirk Books recommend this book. It's a beautiful story and it won the Lambda Literary Award in 2008. I think anyone who wants to read "Gay YA" needs to start with this book near the top of their list.

The Miseducation of Cameron Post by Emily M Danforth
This book was just released yesterday, and I haven't had a chance to pick it up yet, but I've heard a lot of great things. Hopefully the first of many GLBT titles this year.

Bottle Rocket Hearts by Zoe Whittall
I'm pretty sure I can pinpoint my reading of this book as the moment I realized how important it was to have quality GLBT books out there. Written by a fellow Canadian I fell in love with this book from the first page and can only aspire to write something half as good myself. Read my review here.

Mosh Pit by Kristyn Dunnion
Another Canadian title! And if that wasn't enough it was recommended to me by Zoe Whittall herself. That immediately made it jump to the top of my to-read pile.

Luna by Julie Anne Peters
I would have never known about this book is it wasn't for Twitter. Giant hug for Twitter. This book specifically deals with a transgendered character - which is great because they are definitely under represented in the literary world.

Ash by Malinda Lo
Lesbian retelling of Cinderella. Enough said. And if it's not enough then check out Malinda Lo's blog - she's seriously amazing.

What other books do you recommend? And more importantly why do you recommend them? Is it the characters? The story? What kind of message does the book promote?

Bonus question! What kind of GLBT books would you like to see more of? More lesbian lit? More stories about overcoming bullying? More love stories? Bisexual characters? I want to know!

Book Review: Above World by Jenn Reese

2012-02-06T23:32:00.000-05:00

Series: AboveWorld #1

Publisher:Candlewick Press

Genre: Fantasy,Science Fiction, Middle Grade

Page count: 368

Source: Receivedegalley via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Release Date: February 14 2012

Thirteen-year-old Aluna has livedher entire life under the ocean with the Coral Kampii in the City ofShifting Tides. But after centuries spent hidden from the AboveWorld, her colony's survival is at risk. The Kampii's breathingnecklaces are failing, but the elders are unwilling to venture abovewater to seek answers. Only headstrong Aluna and her friend Hoku arestubborn and bold enough to face the terrors of land to search forway to save their people. But can Aluna's fierce determination andfighting skills and Hoku's tech-savvy keep them safe? Set in a worldwhere overcrowding has led humans to adapt - growing tails to liveunder the ocean or wings to live on mountains - here is a ridethrough a future where greed and cruelty have gone unchecked, but theloyalty of friends remains true.

My Review

When I started reading Above World I was expecting a prettybasic middle grade title. A fun fantasy story that I could losemyself in for a little while. Something along the lines of Disney'sThe Little Mermaid. What I found, however, was a delightful fantasymixed with some science fiction and a strong story I could really getbehind.

Unlike many fantasy stories, this book takes place in a futuristicversion of our world. In the future, over-population has led humans tofind more creative places to reside – the ocean, the mountains, thedesert. Various advances in technology have allowed humans to adaptto these environments and for awhile everything is fine. However,when the technology begins to fail, one young mermaid (or Kampii) Aluna makes her way to thesurface to find the solution to the problem and save her underwaterpeople. I was fascinated by this futuristic society and the uniqueways humans adapted.

I also enjoyed that this novel revolved around a full, strong cast ofcharacters. Though Aluna is a key character, it is not simply thecase of one amazing do-it-all heroine, surrounded by a bunch of sidekicks. All four characters – Aluna, Hoku, Calli and Dash – areunqiue, they come from different worlds and they all have somethingimportant to contribute.

Ifound there were some important messages in this book – inparticular the dangers of relying to heavily on technology. This is aparticularly relevant and insightful message given how “plugged in”the younger generation (as well as my own) has become. Above Worldis an enchanting and inventive middle grade title, with a stunningcast of characters and an interesting way of looking at the future. Imay have been expecting a standard mermaid tale but instead I got something much more complex and engaging.

About the Author

Jenn Reese writes science fiction andfantasy adventure stories for readers of all ages. Her first middlegrade series will be published in 2012 by Candlewick, and istentatively titled ABOVE WORLD. Her first novel, JADE TIGER, is a kungfu action adventure romance...with tigers.

Similar Titles

Wildwood by Colin Meloy

The Last Dragonslayer by Jasper Fforde

iBoy by Kevin Brooks

The Way We Fall Book Launch

2012-02-06T11:03:00.000-05:00

This past Saturday I attended the book launch for The Way We Fall, a brilliant and exciting new book from fellow Torontonian Megan Crewe (Read my full review here). I attended this launch with fellow bloggers Wendy (Cupcake & a Latte), Michele (Just a Lil Lost), Evie (Bookish), Angel (Mermaid Vision), Brenna (Ever After Esther) and Sarah (Geek Girl Blog).

After a quick trip to BMV, we made our way down to Baka Phoenix Books (an amazing independent bookstore in downtown Toronto). Before heading inside we snapped a few photos of the striking window display. Love that yellow cover!

Once inside we headed over to meet Megan. She was incredibly nice and she seemed to know instantly that we were the bloggers (although we still made sure to include our blog names in our introductions!). After talking for a bit she invited us to check out the swag and help ourselves to snacks.

There was some really neat swag for us to take. Bookmarks, pens, magnets and little Way We Fall hand sanitizers! Such a great idea!

After some general mingling, Megan talked about why she had chosen to write The Way We Fall, especially since her first book was a ghost story. She talked about reading The Stand by Stephen King when she was younger and being absolutely terrified and how that influenced her to write this story now. Then she read a small section of the book, which just made me want to read it all over again!

After the reading we all got in line and I got my copy of The Way We Fall signed. Thanks to Wendy I also got a picture with Megan herself! It was a great afternoon, filled with lots of chatting about books, cookies and browsing the downstairs Doctor Who shelves.

If you haven't read The Way We Fall yet, I definitely recommend it. Pick it up from The Book Depository for only $13 and free shipping!

Book Review: The Way We Fall by Megan Crewe

2012-02-06T00:28:00.001-05:00

Series: The WayWe Fall #1

Publisher:Disney-Hyperion

Genre:Post-Apocalyptic

Page count: 309

Source:Purchased a copy

Release Date:January 24 2012

When a deadly virus begins to sweepthrough sixteen-year-old Kaelyn’s community, the governmentquarantines her island—no one can leave, and no one can come back.Those still healthy must fight for dwindling supplies, or lose allchance of survival. As everything familiar comes crashing down,Kaelyn joins forces with a former rival and discovers a new love inthe midst of heartbreak. When the virus starts to rob her of friendsand family, she clings to the belief that there must be a way to savethe people she holds dearest. Because how will she go on if thereisn't?

My Review

The Way WeFall, by Canadian author MeganCrewe, is a gritty and realistic read. It will keep you hanging ontoevery word, not wanting to put down the book until you know exactlywhat will happen to each and every character. There was more than oneoccasion where my obsession with this book almost made me miss mysubway stop.

Themost significant thing I have to say about this book is that is justfeels so real. An unknown virus sweeps a small, but densely populatedisland. It's highly contagious, leaving doctors and scientists unableto keep up with the rate of infection. Megan clearly did herresearch for this book. All the government protocols, hospitalorganization and details about the virus itself were incredibly wellthought out and to the best of my knowledge (and what little I read onWikipedia) pretty accurate. This made reading this book even moreterrifying. It reminded me of recent pandemic scares and totally hadme believing that this was something that could really happen.

In addition to the detail that was put into this book, The Way WeFall, is led by a really strong main character. I really likedKaelyn – I found her both strong willed, as well as compassionate.An admirable combination. She's the type of character who takesaction. When news about the virus is starting to come out sheimmediately wanted to get involved and help others in the town. Thisdesire to help others is a quality that continues no matter how badthings get. However, despite this bravery I did not find hercharacter too good to be true. She is definitely flawed. Kaelyn getsscared and nervous just like anyone would in a similar situation,which sometimes leads her to make some poor decisions. These flawsonly enhance the layers of her character and make her someone you caneasily relate too.

Overall this was an exciting read. If it wasn't for work I probablywould have read the whole thing in one sitting. Because it felt somuch like something that could really happen it was a chilling book and one that will stay with me for some time to come. As this is thefirst in a proposed trilogy I can't wait to see what happens next andhow Kaelyn deals with the next challenges to come.

About the Author

Like many authors, Megan Crewefinds writing about herself much more difficult than making thingsup. A few definite facts: she lives in Toronto, Canada with herhusband and two cats (and does on occasion say "eh"), shetutors children and teens with special needs, and she has yet to makefriends with a ghost, though she welcomes the opportunity. Her firstnovel, GIVE UP THE GHOST, was published by Henry Holt in 2009and is now out in paperback. Her second novel, THE WAY WE FALL,is coming in January 2012 from Disney-Hyperion.

Camp Wordsmith: Week 4 Update

2012-02-04T00:39:00.003-05:00

I have undertaken an adventure in 2012 with, Angel (Mermaid Visions), and Jen (Almost Grown Up). We're each going to write a novel! We’ll be checking in every Saturday with our word counts and story updates, as well as discussions on craft and inspiration.

Week: 4

Total Word Count: 8,067

Stage: First Draft

Just a quick update this week. I unfortunately didn't make my goal of 10,000 words. Like last week this week seemed to get really busy really fast and I found I didn't have as much writing time as I originally hoped for. I did make some good progress, however, so I can't complain too much.

I almost always write my stories from first scene to last scene but this week I had a really great idea stuck in my head for a future scene and didn't want to forget it so I decided to try and write non-linearly. While I'm glad I did it, because it got the scene into words, I don't think I'll be attempting more non-linear writing. It makes me think too far ahead when what I really need to be working on is the dialogue for a first date! So awkward! Who knows how to make good conversation on a first date!

My goal for this week is to make it to 12,000 words by this time next week. Ideally I'd like to do a little bit more than that but I don't want to set the goal to high. Wish me luck!

Fangirl Friday: Field Trip!

2012-02-02T23:24:00.000-05:00

Fangirl Friday is a weekly feature here at Hooked on Books where I share some of my favourite nerdy, non bookish things. This can include DIY projects, product features, geeky field trips, movie/game reviews etc.

Happy Friday everyone! Sorry for the lack of post last week. The week got crazy busy and before I knew it, Friday had arrived and I had nothing ready.

This week, however, I went on a super amazing field trip! My good friend Dominic (who writes the blog Post Launch Reviews) took me to an amazing store in downtown Toronto, called The Silver Snail. The Silver Snail is a comic book store - but its not just any comic book store. It's a nerd's paradise. It was my first time there but it definitely won't be my last.

It doesn't look like much from the outside but once you walk in your immediately surrounded by Mario, Doctor Who, Harry Potter, Superheroes - you name it. It's there.

Just a few of the many many
superhero action figures

Once you walk through the first room, you'll find the comic book room. In addition to all the comic books there are all these beautiful Marvel and DC action figures. And an entire shelf of Doctor Who paraphernalia!

We happened to go on a Wednesday, which is NEW COMIC BOOK DAY, so the place was pretty busy. I decided to forgo browsing at the comics for this particular visit but did take a look at the manga.Well wandering around the large room of I found this beautiful man (I'm talking about Darth Vader not Hellboy - although he's pretty awesome too).

I would like to point out that |
Chekov comes with an extra,
interchangeable hand

After we finished in the comic book room we ventured upstairs. Upstairs there are even more action figures - Harry Potter, Halo, a whole wall of Star Wars, Star Trek etc etc. They just keep going. There was also a hockey player Mr Potato Head...I'm not quite sure how that fit in with everything else but there it was. There was also a decent selection of board games. Many of which I'd never heard of but they sounded amazing!

I could go on and on about all the amazing things in this store but this would end up being a really long post. Essentially I recommend this store whenever you want to satisfy your inner (or outer) geek. Whatever your favourite fandom you'll be sure to find it here. If you don't live in the Toronto area then be sure to add this store to your "must visit" list.

Of course I couldn't leave the store without picking up a little souvenir for myself. I chose an amazing set of Bat Symbol ice cube trays! They're silicone so I'm hoping I can also use them to make chocolates. Make sure to keep your eyes peeled for Batman chocolates in a future Fangirl Friday post!

Because I couldn't include everything in this post - here are some of the other pictures I snapped throughout The Silver Snail.

The Sword that was Broken!!!!

Love that they have the alien from Mars Attacks!

I love this movie! Wish I had space at my apartment for it.

Book Review: Woman in Black by Susan Hill

2012-02-02T10:48:00.000-05:00

Publisher: Vintage
Genre: Horror, Suspense
Page count: 160
Source: Purchased a copy

Release Date: October 10 1983

Set in Victorian England, ArthurKipps, a junior solicitor in London, is summoned to Crythin Gifford to attendthe funeral of Mrs Alice Drablow, and to sort through her papers beforereturning to London. It is here that Kipps first sees the woman in black andbegins to gain an impression of the mystery surrounding her. From the funeral hetravels to Eel Marsh House and sees the woman again, plus he also hears theterrifying sounds of adult and child passengers sinking into the quicksand on apony and trap.Despite Kipps’s experiences he resolves to spend the night at the house andfulfil hi professional duty.It is this night at Eel Marsh House that containsthe greatest horror for Kipps. Rescued by Mr Daily, a friend he met on thetrain, Kipps discovers the reasons behind the hauntings at Eel Marsh House. Thebook ends with tragedy, with the woman in black exacting a final, terriblerevenge.

MyReview

I'm not going to lie to you all. I picked up this book because I wanted to read it before going to see the movie. And I want to go see the movie because Daniel Radcliffe is in it. I'm sure I'm not the only one! However, I must you warn you, if you pick up this book expecting to be in any way like Harry Potter, please set it back down and find a different book, because you will be horribly disappointed.

This book is a ghost story in every sense of the word. As told from the point of view of the main character, Arthur Kipps, we experience every creepy moment in tandem with him. There is no extra information we are privy to as readers, we only know what's in front of Arthur's face. This of course is part of the recipe for any great horror story - limit the knowledge, increase the fear factor. In addition, this novel does an amazing job of instilling this constant feeling of dread that you just can't shake. You know something bad is going to happen but you don't know what or when. It's unsettling but in a good way.

One issue I had with this novel was the time period. The synopsis has it set in "Victorian England". This is not a Victorian novel. It feels more like The Crucible than anything else. It also seemed to slip in more modern language and settings from time to time. This inconsistency was a little distracting and I think it could have been executed much more smoothly.

This is a great ghost story and at 160 pages its a quick read. The story isn't overly scary but it is creepy, and as a result is definitely a fun read (especially at night). If you're planning on seeing the movie then why not read through the book first. From what I've seen from the trailer they're going to embellish the story quite a bit and it might be nice to be familiar with the original before watching.

Aboutthe Author
Susan Hill wasborn in Scarborough, North Yorkshire in 1942. Her hometown was later referredto in her novel A Change for the Better (1969) and some short storiesespecially "Cockles and Mussels". Her family leftScarborough in 1958 and moved to Coventry where her father worked in car andaircraft factories. Around this time she wrote her first novel, The Enclosurewhich was published by Hutchinson in her first year at university. The novelwas criticised by The Daily Mail for its sexual content, with the suggestionthat writing in this style was unsuitable for a "schoolgirl". Hernext novel Gentleman and Ladies was published in 1968. This was followed inquick succession by A Change for the Better, I'm the King of the Castle, TheAlbatross and other stories, Strange Meeting, The Bird of Night, A Bit ofSinging and Dancing and In the Springtime of Year, all written and publishedbetween 1968 and 1974. In 1975 she married Shakespeare scholar Stanley Wellsand they moved to Stratford upon Avon. Their first daughter, Jessica, was bornin 1977 and their second daughter, Clemency, was born in 1985. Hill hasrecently founded her own publishing company, Long Barn Books, which haspublished one work of fiction per year.

Similar Titles
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
The Crucible by Arthur Miller
Uncle Silas by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu

Movie Trailer for the adaptation of Woman in Black, starring Daniel Radcliffe. In theatres now.

Top Picks for February!

2012-01-31T22:59:00.001-05:00

There are some amazing books coming out this month. I have no idea how I'm going to keep up with them all. In a crazy effort to narrow down the pile I've picked the top 10 books I'm most excited for. So here they are in no particular order.

Born Wicked by Jessica Spotswood (February 7th, Putnam Books)
I just reviewed this book yesterday (read it here) and I just loved it. The setting was amazing, the characters were likedable. Definitely the beginning of a great new series. Oh and did I mention there's a cute boy that likes to read?!

If my review isn't enough to convince you make sure you check out the trailer. It's guaranteed to have you running to the bookstore on Feb 7.

Arcadia Awakens by Kai Meyers (February 14, Harper Collins)

Look at that cover. It's so gorgeous and mysterious. I just finished reading this one yesterday and I really enjoyed it. It's got action, adventure and just the right amount of supernatural. Plus it involved the Mafia and it takes place in Sicily. It's just a recipe for a great read.

Fever by Lauren DeStefano (February 21, Simon Pulse)

I'm sure mine won't be the only one featuring Fever (the highly anticipated sequel to last year's Wither) on their February lists. Dystopia is still the genre to beat and Lauren DeStefano doesn't disappoint with this exciting and heart wrenching sequel. I personally liked this one even better than the first.

Make sure you're following Lauren on Twitter. She fantastic and may even provide you with some great fake spoiler or character playlists.

Taft 2012 by Jason Heller (January 31, Quirk Books)

I know! I know! This is a January title - but in my defense I didn't know about it when I was putting my January picks together and it's pretty darn close to February, so I thought it would be ok if I slipped it into this year. This book sounds hilarious! There aren't enough comedic alternate history novels out there in my opinion so I definitely want to draw attention to them when they do show up. And since this is also a Quirk Book I want to jump up and down, point widly at it and yodel "READ IT" (I may have a crush on Quirk Books).

Article 5 by Kristen Simmons (February 1, Tor Teen)

Another dystopia! And another start to what I think will be a great series! I reviewed Article 5 last week and I really enjoyed it. Especially the main character - Ember. In addition this book stirred up a lot of strong thoughts and emotions - particularly about the role of feminists in the future. It definitely spurned a great discussion and I'd love to hear your thoughts as well!

Pure by Julianna Baggott (February 8, Grand Central)

To be quite honest I know very little about this book except that the brief snipet of a synopsis on Goodreads intrigues me to no end and I know a couple people reading it right now who have good things to say. In addition I really love the cover. It's so pretty - particularly the butterfly! This book would definitely catch my eye in the store, even if I hadn't put it on this list.

The Miseducation of Cameron Post by Emily M Danforth (February 7, Balzer & Bray)

I know! I know! This is not a speculative fiction title. But I needed to put this in here for two reasons 1) It sounds amazing and heart breaking and 2) I am particularly drawn to Gay YA. I think it's an important genre and its definitely close to my heart. Oh and I guess the third reason is I'm writing a gay YA novel myself and things like The Miseducation of Cameron Post inspire me to keep going when I get frustrated with my own work.

Partials by Dan Wells (February 27, Harper Teen)

Partials sounds like a really great pulse pounding science fiction read and if you're anything like me, you NEED a good science fiction fix on a regular basis. Here's a brief synopsis "The human race is all but extinct after a war with Partials--engineered organic beings identical to humans--has decimated the population. Reduced to only tens of thousands by RM, a weaponized virus to which only a fraction of humanity is immune, the survivors in North America have huddled together on Long Island while the Partials have mysteriously retreated" Sounds good right?

The Wolf Gift by Anne Rice (February 14, Knopf)

I know I did this in no particular order but I did save the best two for last. ANNE RICE IS WRITING PARANORMAL FICTION AGAIN!!! Finally. I am so excited. I just got this book in the mail Monday and I want to read it now. Also if you're in Toronto she'll be here signing on the 13th - Tickets are sold out but they do keep a certain amount of rush tickets for the night of. More information can be found on the Toronto Library website.

Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver (February 28, Harper Teen)

This wasn't supposed to be a February title but it is now and I could not be more excited. After the heart breaking/soul crushing ending of Delirium I thought I would never make it to Pandemonium but its almost here! Lauren Oliver is one of my absolute favourite writers - her stories are absolutely beautiful and if you haven't read Delirium go and get! You have 28 days as of now!

So those are my top picks for February! What books are you anxiously waiting for this month?

Book Review: Born Wicked by Jessica Spotswood

2012-01-31T11:52:00.000-05:00

Series: TheCahill Witch Chronicles #1

Publisher:Putnam

Genre:Supernatural, Historical Fiction

Page count: 326

Source: Receivedcopy from publisher in exchange for an honest review

Release Date:February 7 2012

Order It

Everybody knows Cate Cahill and hersisters are eccentric. Too pretty, too reclusive, and far tooeducated for their own good. But the truth is even worse: they'rewitches. And if their secret is discovered by the priests of theBrotherhood, it would mean an asylum, a prison ship—or an earlygrave. Before her mother died, Cate promised to protect hersisters. But with only six months left to choose between marriage andthe Sisterhood, she might not be able to keep her word . . .especially after she finds her mother's diary, uncovering a secretthat could spell her family's destruction. Desperate to findalternatives to their fate, Cate starts scouring banned books andquestioning rebellious new friends, all while juggling tea parties,shocking marriage proposals, and a forbidden romance with thecompletely unsuitable Finn Belastra. If what her mother wrote istrue, the Cahill girls aren't safe. Not from the Brotherhood, theSisterhood—not even from each other.

My Review
This book is one of the best books I've read about witches in a looooonnnnnggg time.

Honestly, the last few witch books I've read have been cheesy, and overdone. They all felt the same. Born Wicked goes in a completely different direction. First of all, it had an amazing and beautiful setting. Jessica Spotswood creates a magical world. This world looks very much like Victorian England but Jessica takes it one step further and builds an entire brand new world. This world is haunting (the Brotherhood gave me chills), its mysterious. It's well thought out and incredibly detailed. I felt myself getting entirely wrapped up in the world and I can't wait to read the rest of this series so I can fall back in.

Another reason you'll fall in love with this book is Finn Belastra. The well read, funny charming gardener?! Was I not supposed to fall (and fall hard) for him? The romance in Born Wicked was beautiful and heart wrenching. I will definitely be rooting for Finn no matter what!

Now speaking of romance...I just have to comment of the presence of lesbian witches. I have to admit this one surprised me a little bit. They seemed to come out of no where, and it wasn't what I expected but for Born Wicked is was kind of a neat idea.

I loved this book. It enchanted me and it wrapped me up in its historical setting. The characters are well formed and easy to connect to. It's definitely the start of an amazing series and after an incredible surprise ending I need the next one now!

About the Author

Jessica hearts books, yoga, tea,cardamom cookies, the color pink, board games, theatre, twirlydresses, and bells chiming the hour. She's frighteninglyenthusiastic.

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Book Review: Hanging Hill by Mo Hayder

2012-01-30T00:45:00.000-05:00

Publisher:HarperCollins Canada

Genre: Thriller,Mystery

Page count: 428

Source: Receivedecopy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Release Date:January 27 2012

What if you found yourself divorcedand penniless? With no skills and a teenage daughter to support? Whatif the only way to survive was to do things you never thoughtpossible, to go places you never knew existed …These are questionsSally has never really thought about before. Married to asuccessful business man, she’s always been a bit of a dreamer.Until now. Her sister Zoe is her polar opposite. Adetective inspector working out of Bath Central, she loves her job,and oozes self-confidence. No one would guess that she hides acrippling secret that dates back twenty years, and which – ifexposed – may destroy her. Then Sally’s daughter getsinto difficulties, and Sally finds she needs cash – lots ofit – fast. With no one to help her, she is forced into a criminalworld of extreme pornography and illegal drugs; a world in whichteenage girls can go missing.

My Review
Hanging Hill is a gruesome story with so many twists and turns it'll keep you guessing right until the last page.

This story starts out on an interesting note. A high school student is murdered in a sick and disturbing way. Many mystery writers would take this one plot point and run with it, but not Mo Hayder. Instead Mo Hayder weaves this first murder into such a complex and detailed spiderweb, it's amazing she could keep everything straight. Furthermore, she takes the mystery into a direction I would have never foreseen. There are many unique and interesting developments that set it apart from other mysteries.

In addition to the amazing storytelling, there is also an incredible amount of detail to this book. From the description of the dead body, to the play by play of some suspect porn, to an incredibly disturbing rape scene. Nothing is left unaccounted for. This is one story that doesn't shy away from the unpleasant. At times it was a little hard to read, but it definitely made for an authentic reading experience.

Hayder then extends that amazing detail to her characters - particularly Sally. I think Sally is (arguably) the character that goes through the most changes. She goes from being meek and mild (I think pushover is the ideal word here) to someone who is strong, independent and frankly a little scary. Not all the characters develop as extensively as Sally but she's such an important character that it really stands out.

Mo Hayder is a master when it comes to suspense and thrills, and Hanging Hill certainly lives up to this legacy. It will thrill you, surprise you and stay with you long after you've finished reading it. I know I was lying in bed staring at the ceiling, terrified, long into the night.

About the Author

Mo Hayder left school atfifteen. She worked as a barmaid, security guard, film-maker, hostessin a Tokyo club, educational administrator and teacher of English asa foreign language in Asia. She has an MA in film from The AmericanUniversity in Washington DC and an MA in creative writing from BathSpa University UK. Mo lives in Bath with her daughterLotte-Genevieve.

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Birdman by Mo Hayder

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Camp Wordsmith: Characters

2012-01-28T08:00:00.000-05:00

Week 3

Word Count thisweek: 2,552

Total WordCount: 5,089

Stage: Firstdraft

Look! Look!Look! I wrote words this week! Lots of them.

I'm actuallyquite proud of myself :)

This week forCamp Wordsmith we're going to talk about characters – whichactually works out quite well for me because I've just reached apoint where all my central characters have been introduced. In mycurrent work in progress I have four characters that the storyrevolves around. Two girls and two guys. One girl is the maincharacter, and she has two love interests and a best friend (pleasedon't groan at the thought of a love triangle. It will all make sensein future posts as I divulge more secrets about my book!)

Anyways, beforeI started writing, when I was in the midst of creating an outline Imade up some character profiles. I used the format found in ReadySet Novel! Which is a greatresource from the people who put on NaNoWriMo. I filled outinformation like their date of birth, appearance, likes/dislikes etc,but I didn't really make it that detailed because frankly I didn'tfeel like I knew these characters yet. So as I write I'm also keepinga few sheets of paper out where I can write down details about thecharacters as they arise.

I'vefound in my past writing experience, that I become obsessed with mycharacters. I feel like I know them personally. This is partiallybecause I end up spending so much time with them and also because Iusually borrows bits and pieces of my friends and family'spersonalities as I see fit. One character is never exactly like oneperson I know but they may contain elements of that person. I findhaving this attitude towards my characters makes it a little biteasier to to write dialogue because I can imagine how they mightrespond in a particular situation.

Sofar things have been going swimmingly with my characters. It's like areally good first date. Hopefully this beautiful relationship willcontinue and I can easily build on what I already know about them.

I'dlove to hear any tips you guys have on character development, orreally just any thoughts you have on characters at all. Which onesare cliche, which ones are the most fun to read about etc etc.

I'malso trying to reach 10,000 words by the end of January (3 days!!) soI could really use some quality cheerleading.

Checkout my partners in crime this week – Jen (Almost Grown Up) andAngel (Mermaid Visions)

Book Review: Forbidden by Syrie James and Ryan M. James

2012-01-26T12:48:00.000-05:00

Publisher:HarperCollins

Genre:Paranormal

Page count: 411

Source: ReceivedARC from another blogger

Release Date:January 24 2012

She should not exist. He shouldnot love her. Claire Brennan has been attending EmersonAcademy for two years now (the longest she and her mom have remainedanywhere) and she’s desperate to stay put for the rest of highschool. So there’s no way she’s going to tell her mom about thepsychic visions she’s been having or the creepy warnings that she’sin danger. Alec MacKenzie is fed up with his duties to watchand, when necessary, eliminate the descendants of his angelicforefathers. He chose Emerson as the ideal hiding place where hecould be normal for once. He hadn’t factored Claire into his plans.. . . Their love is forbidden, going against everything Alec hasbeen taught to believe. But when the reason behind Claire’s unusualpowers is revealed and the threat to her life becomes clear, how farwill Alec go to protect her?

My Review

Unfortunately, for me, this book was a giant cliche.

The first half of this book is so much like Twilight, that it makesme think they did it on purpose. On her first day at school, Clairemeets a mysterious boy, who doesn't say much but is strangely drawnto her. Later on he displays unnatural abilities while saving herfrom an oncoming car. And when he uses his abilities he glows. Theseare just a few examples, but they feel awfully familiar.

The second half was slightly more original. Instead of vampires andwerewolves the focus was on the mythology of angels – specificallythe Grigori and the Nephilim. I haven't read a lot of angel books soI don't know if this is a common mythology, but I definitely found itan interesting one. Unfortunately, amongst this mythology was evenmore cliches.

First off was the whole “damsel in distress” storyline. I'm really tired offemales characters that need to be rescued all the time. Especially,since we're led to believe that Claire has these amazing angelicpowers that make her a threat to the others (like the Grigori and theFallen). I wish she had spent a little more time thinking for herselfthen simply running off to find Alec to save her. Which brings me tomy second complaint. Insta-love. I'm sorry but there is no way thesetwo are in love already. It is ludicrous. They barely know each otherand they spent part of the time they did know each other lying aboutthemselves. So they know each other even less than they think theydo! It just wasn't realistic.

This book really disappointed me. It felt like a recycled story. Ireally liked the mythology and felt like they could have really donesomething interesting with it. Instead it fell victim to the same oldYA tropes that need to be left behind.

About the Author

Syrie James was born in Poughkeepsie,New York, and moved west at age one because her father didn't likeshoveling snow. She has lived most of her life in California, if youdon't count the two years as a child when she lived in France. Aftera successful career as a screenwriter, in which she sold nineteenscreenplays and teleplays in a variety of genres to Tri-StarPictures, Fox Family Films, ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX TV and the LifetimeNetwork, Syrie decided to follow her passion and write a novel. Shewas thrilled when her first work of historical fiction, The LostMemoirs of Jane Austen, sold at auction after a two-day bidding warbetween three major publishing houses. When she's not reading orwriting, Syrie's preferred activity is to spend time with her husbandand family. Syrie married her college sweetheart, Bill James, and sheconsiders their sons Ryan and Jeff to be her finest achievements!

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Waiting on Wednesday: Triggers

2012-01-25T08:00:00.000-05:00

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly feature hosted by Breaking the Spine. It's a chance to share upcoming books that we're particularly excited for.

Robert J Sawyer

Viking

April 3 2012

What's It About:

On the eve of a secret militaryoperation, an assassin’s bullet strikes U.S. President SethJerrison. He is rushed to hospital, where surgeons struggle to savehis life. At the same hospital, Canadian researcher Dr. Ranjip Singhis experimenting with a device that can erase traumatic memories.Then a terrorist bomb detonates. In the operating room, the presidentsuffers cardiac arrest. He has a near-death experience—but thememories that flash through Jerrison’s mind are not hismemories.

It quickly becomes clear that theelectromagnetic pulse generated by the bomb amplified and scrambledDr. Singh’s equipment, allowing a random group of people to accessone another’s minds. And now one of those people has access to thepresident’s memories—including classified information regardingan upcoming military mission, which, if revealed, could costcountless lives. But the task of determining who has switchedmemories with whom is a daunting one, particularly when some of thepeople involved have reasons to lie ...

Why I Want to Read It:

It's Robert J Sawyer! He's an amazing science fiction author. He's won both the Hugo and the Nebula awards. This is like his gazillionth book and if its anything like his other books I know I'll love it
He's a Canadian author. Gotta support my fellow Canucks
It seems like this book combines science fiction with many of the fabulous qualities you find in political/spy thrillers. Science and adventure!! Yay!!

Audiobook Review: The Hum and the Shiver by Alex Bledsoe

2012-01-24T08:00:00.000-05:00

Narratedby: Emily Janice Card andStefan Rudnicki

Publisher:Blackstone Audio

Genre: Fantasy

Source: Borrowedfrom Library

Release Date:September 27 2011

Print:

Audio:

No one knows where the Tufa came from, or how they ended up inthe mountains of East Tennessee. When the first Europeans cameto the Smoky Mountains, the Tufa were already there. Dark-haired andenigmatic, they live quietly in the hills and valleys of CloudCounty, their origins lost to history. But there are clues in theirmusic, hidden in the songs they have passed down for generations. . ..Private Bronwyn Hyatt, a true daughter of the Tufa, has returnedfrom Iraq, wounded in body and spirit, but her troubles are far fromover. Cryptic omens warn of impending tragedy, while a restless“haint” has followed her home from the war. Worse yet, Bronwynhas lost touch with herself and with the music that was once apart of her. With death stalking her family, will she ever again joinin the song of her people, and let it lift her onto the night winds?

My Review

The Hum and the Shiveris a fantasy novel, but you wouldn't know it right away. One of thesurprising things about this novel, was just how subtle the fantasywas. It started off simply, the only daughter of a local family,returning from Iraq. As the story progressed, however, and youlearned more about that family, you were slowly eased into thefantastic elements of the story and before you knew it, you werereading a fantasy novel.

Inthe same vein, I liked how vague the Tufa identity was kept. At acertain point you know there is something more to them. That theyaren't just any old society, with unqiue and quirky traditions. Thereis definitely something magical going on. Illusions are made, but itsnot until the very end of the book that you find out exactly whatthey are. I liked this air of mystery surrounding it and felt like itkept me from making assumptions about what kind of book it was goingto be.

The Hum and the Shiveris also filled with brilliant, colourful characters. There were so many loud and large personalities that the story never had a dullmoment. Out of all these characters though Bronwyn is by far myfavourite. She's brave and strong and outspoken. She made me laughbut she was also someone a felt a real connection with. She was wellrounded and her character developed every step of the way – good character development is something I haven't seen enough oflately.

Inmy opinion, this is a great book, mostly for the reasons listed above, but also because of how open it is to a variety of readers. There's ayoung female lead (Brownyn), who reminds me of a lot of the strong females yousee in YA books nowadays (*disclaimer: this is not a YA novel. This is adult fantasy*), there's strong fantasy elements for thosewho enjoy the genre, and there's beautiful writing and scenery, rightalongside sex, violence and mayhem. It's all here in one neat littlepackage. I highly recommend this book for fantasy fans but also foranyone who's looking for something unique and well written.

Notes on the Audio

This audio wassplit between two narrators. One who took on all the female parts andthe other the male. Both were strong readers with pleasant voices.However, I did run into some trouble. When swtiching betweencharacters there was very little variation between voices and attimes I got confused or was unsure who was talking to whom. It didn'thappen too much, but enough that I noticed it and had to go back andre-listen to one or two parts.

That being said,I really enjoyed Stefan Rudnicki's narration. He has such a deep andsoothing voice. And depending on the scene, it could sound calming,threatening, mysterious etc. It was very versatile and I would listento other books narrated by him (as long as there was some vocal changesfrom character to character).

About the Author
Alex Bledsoe grew up in west Tennessee an hour north of Graceland(home of Elvis) and twenty minutes from Nutbush (home of TinaTurner). He's been a reporter, editor, photographer and door-to-doorvacuum cleaner salesman. He now lives in a big yellow house inWisconsin, writes before six in the morning and tries to teach histwo sons to act like they've been to town before.

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Book Review: Article 5 by Kristen Simmons

2012-01-23T11:02:00.000-05:00

Series: Article5 #1

Publisher: TorTeen

Genre: Dystopia

Page count: 384

Source: ReceivedARC from publisher in exchange for an honest review

Release Date:January 31 2012

New York, Los Angeles, and Washington,D.C., have been abandoned. The Bill of Rights has been revoked,and replaced with the Moral Statutes. There are no morepolice—instead, there are soldiers. There are no more fines for badbehavior—instead, there are arrests, trials, and maybe worse.People who get arrested usually don't come back.
Seventeen-year-oldEmber Miller is old enough to remember that things weren’t alwaysthis way. Living with her rebellious single mother, it’s hard forher to forget that people weren’t always arrested for reading thewrong books or staying out after dark. It’s hard to forget thatlife in the United States used to be different. Ember hasperfected the art of keeping a low profile. She knows how to get thethings she needs, like food stamps and hand-me-down clothes, and howto pass the random home inspections by the military. Her life is asclose to peaceful as circumstances allow. That is, until hermother is arrested for noncompliance with Article 5 of the MoralStatutes. And one of the arresting officers is none other than ChaseJennings…the only boy Ember has ever loved.

My Review
The trend of YA dystopia continues as we make our way into 2012. In this particular version of the future a great war has happened (the cause of which I'm a little unsure on) and in order to "rebuild society" a new type of government with some crazy and suppressive rules springs up. Ember Miller tries to keep her head down in this new society, but there is no way she could have protected herself against the supposed "crimes" of her mother that happened before she was even born.

Now I love dystopia fiction, but at this point there have been so many YA novels in this genre, that I always go in a little cautiously. Thankfully, however, Article 5 captured many of those elements of dystopia that make me love it so ferociously. In particular, I loved this book because it stirred up such a strong emotional reaction from me. The Moral Statutes set out a system where women are to become submissive to men. The feminist in me was pulling out my hair at this. (I even wrote a whole post about it here). It was such a despicable, well imagined society that it had me clamouring to fight back against it. To take a stand alongside Ember or start my very own resistance movement.

I also really liked Ember. Not because there was anything particularly special about her - she was just an ordinary girl, stuck in an impossible situation. No, I liked her because of her bond with her mother. Ember is a fighter. She's scrappy and determined and she won't let anyone get in her way and prevent her from achieving her goal. And her goal isn't to save herself, or be with the boy she loves (though there is a love interest involved). Her sole driving force is to save her mother. I found this admirable. I have a close realtionship with my mother as well and hope I would demonstrate the same courage that Ember did, if a similar situation should ever arise (heaven forbid!).

In conclusion, Article 5 is an entertaining and thought provoking dystopian novel. It is a gem in what is arguably an over-saturated market - so if you liked dystopian fiction I highly recommend you add Article 5 to your list.

About the Author

Kristen Simmons has a master’s degreein social work and is an advocate for mental health. She lovesJazzercise, her husband, and her precious greyhound, Rudy. Alsochocolate. She currently lives in Tampa, Florida.
For moreupdates on Kristen and her writing, check out her blogathttp://www.kristensimmonsbooks.com/blogor visit herathttp://www.facebook.com/author.kristensi...She also blogs withfriendsathttp://yafusion.blogspot.com andhttp://bravenewwordsdebut.blogspot.com/

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Camp Wordsmith: Where oh where to write

2012-01-21T08:00:00.000-05:00

Week 3

Word Count: 2,537

Stage: First Draft

Sadly, I didn't reach my goal for the week. I wanted to make it to 4,000 words but then the week sort of got away on me. Still progress is progress and I have the whole weekend ahead of me!

Since this was my first week actually writing (not planning) I came across a problem I hadn't thought of before. Where was I going to write?

I live in a fairly tiny (but awesome apartment) with two other people. It's not crowded by any means, but there isn't a lot of quiet writing space. To top that all off, we don't have a table. I realize this seems like a pretty significant piece of furniture not to have, but honestly we've never really needed one. Whenever I write my reviews and what not I just sit cross legged on the couch with the computer on my lap.

It soon became apparent this week, however, that computer lap balancing just wasn't going to cut it for extended periods of writing. I need a table. I was even instructed by Allison Baggio (author of Girl in Shades) that I needed to make it priority #1!

Until I actually find a table that is a)big enough for me to write on and b)small enough to squeeze into my apartment, I made my way to Starbucks to make some progress on my Camp Wordsmith project. I actually found it a great place to work. In fact I wrote all 2,537 of my words there this week. I'm thinking about making it a weekly (or bi-weekly) ritual - in addition to my writing at home. Hopefully it remains a productive working environment. I'm also thinking about tagging along with my boyfriend to the Univeristy library. Libraries are always good for writing right?

So wish me luck as I search for the perfect table! and until then are there any other writing-friendly places you would recommend for me? They could be more general places or Toronto specific places. I'm open to any suggestions!

Fangirl Friday: Stumbled across on Etsy...

2012-01-20T00:01:00.000-05:00

Fangirl Friday is a weekly feature here at Hooked on Books where I share some of my favourite nerdy, non bookish things. This can include DIY projects, product features, geeky field trips, movie/game reviews etc.

I love Etsy. It's almost unhealthy how much time I spend window shopping (screen shopping?) on there. Honestly, I just think of something really nerdy that I like...such as Batman, Jem and the Holograms, Lord of the Rings, Mario etc etc and see what wonderfully creative things people have come up with. My favourites list is a mile long (at least).

This week in particular I was looking for book related jewelry (because it's not enough that I blog about books, talk about them and carry them around with me - I have to adorn myself with them) and I stumbled across an amazing shop called 1 lucky soul.

Not only is all the jewelry in this shop absolutely gorgeous it's all (well almost all) book related:

Some are just plain and simple book related, like this amazing locket,

Photos link back to Etsy page!

Other's a tied to specific series, like this Hunger Games necklace,

It's Peeta's locket! And inside are the words "Real or Not Real".

For fan's of the Tiger's Curse series, there a gorgeous charm necklace for you,

And of course there is Harry Potter jewelry :) I'm personally trying to decided between these two:

Ravenclaw house necklace

Deathly Hallows necklace

Seriously everytime I browse this store I just want to buy all the things!! Which necklace do you guys like the best? And do you have any favourite Etsy stores? Send me the links!

Happy Friday!

Waiting on Wednesday: Starters

2012-01-17T22:32:00.001-05:00

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly feature hosted by Breaking the Spine. It's a chance to share upcoming books that we're particularly excited for.

Lissa Price

March 13 2012

Delacorte Books

What's it about?

Callie lost her parents when the SporeWars wiped out everyone between the ages of twenty and sixty. She andher little brother, Tyler, go on the run, living as squatters withtheir friend Michael and fighting off renegades who would kill themfor a cookie. Callie's only hope is Prime Destinations, a disturbingplace in Beverly Hills run by a mysterious figure known as the OldMan.

He hires teens to rent their bodies toEnders—seniors who want to be young again. Callie, desperate forthe money that will keep her, Tyler, and Michael alive, agrees to bea donor. But the neurochip they place in Callie's head malfunctionsand she wakes up in the life of her renter, living in her mansion,driving her cars, and going out with a senator's grandson. It feelsalmost like a fairy tale, until Callie discovers that her renterintends to do more than party—and that Prime Destinations' plansare more evil than Callie could ever have imagined. . . .

Why Do I Want to Read it?

“fighting off renegades who would kill them for cookie”. That's it right there. That's the line that sold it for me.
Seriously though, this book sounds amazing. I just heard about this week as part of the YAmazing Race and I can't wait to read it! It sounds chock full of action and got just the right mix of dystopia and science fiction. Yay science fiction!!

What are youWaiting on this Wednesday?

Book Review: Scary School by Derek the Ghost

2012-01-17T10:45:00.000-05:00

Publisher:HarperCollins

Genre:Paranormal, Middle Grade

Page count: 237

Source: Receivedcopy from author in exchange for an honest review

Release Date:June 21 2011

You think your school's scary? Get a load of theseteachers:
Ms. Fang, an 850-year-old vampire
Dr. Dragonbreath,who just might eat you before recess
Mr. Snakeskin—science classis so much more fun when it's taught by someone who's halfzombie
Mrs. T—break the rules and spend your detention with ahungryTyrannosaurus rex!
Plus Gargoyles, goblins, andFrankenstein's monster on the loose The world's most frighteninglydelicious school lunch and The narrator's an eleven-year-old ghost!Join Charles "New Kid" Nukid as he makes some very Scaryfriends—including Petunia, Johnny, and Peter the Wolf—and figuresout that Scary School can be just as funny as it is spooky!

My Review
Despite the fact that I am in my 20s and have no children (aged 9-12 or otherwise) I still enjoy a good middle grade title. A well written middle grade title is fun, it's refreshing, it's the stuff fairy tales are made of. I don't mean that poetically, I find that fantasy style middle grade styles help relive that time in my life where I watched Disney movies on repeat and read Doctor Seuss and Robert Munsch books.

So when I read the description of Scary School, I was really excited to read it for the all the reasons listed above and when all is said and done I found it a very cute and funny read. This is a great middle grade title, it's inventive and has an interesting story that will keep kids interested. It's smart (it does after all take place in a school) but it still easy to read and understand. I know since finishing I have passed along my copy to a seven year old (almost eight!) member of my family and he is currently devouring the story with minimal help.

The great thing about this book is the jokes. The book is full of them and you are guaranteed a giggle or two. I'm a little worried that a few of them may go over kid's heads. For example there's a reference to Minotaurs being aMAZEing. I'm not sure how many kids I know would get that joke, but it's totally possible I know the wrong kids!

There's also a really stellar cast of characters! Each chapter deals with new characters, adding to different branches to the storyline. I particularly loved Dr. Dragonbreath and his set of 5 classroom rules. If you break them you don't just get detention - you get eaten! I would've like to learn more about Derek the Ghost (since he's the narrator and all). Despite the fact that he's doing all the talking we know very little about him. I think he should've had his own chapter.

If you have (or know) kids in the ages 8-12 range this would be a great book for them. In addition, however, it's also a fun read for teens or adults who are just looking for something light and enjoyable.

About the Author
Derek is an eleven-year-old ghost who haunts the classrooms andhallways of Scary School, writing down all the spine-tingling oftenhilarious things that go on there. Despite his ghostly state, Derekstill enjoys reading comic books and hopes to one day become a masterninja. If that doesn’t work out, he will continue to share the funof this very special, very secret school, so all kids can experiencethe scariest school on earth. Derek the Ghost communicates throughthe first-time ghost whisperer Derek Taylor Kent, who is a writer andperformer in Los Angeles, California

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Book Review: Tempest by Julie Cross

2012-01-16T08:00:00.000-05:00

Series: Tempest#1

Publisher: StMartin's Griffin

Genre: Fantasy

Page count: 352

Source: ReceivedARC from publisher in exchange for an honest review

Release Date:January 17 2012

The year is 2009. Nineteen-year-old Jackson Meyer is a normal guy… he’s in college,has a girlfriend… and he can travel back through time. But it’snot like the movies – nothing changes in the present after hisjumps, there’s no space-time continuum issues or broken fluxcapacitors – it’s just harmless fun. That is… until the daystrangers burst in on Jackson and his girlfriend, Holly, and during astruggle with Jackson, Holly is fatally shot. In his panic, Jacksonjumps back two years to 2007, but this is not like his previous timejumps. Now he’s stuck in 2007 and can’t get back to the future.Desperate to somehow return to 2009 to save Holly but unable toreturn to his rightful year, Jackson settles into 2007 and learnswhat he can about his abilities. But it’s not long before thepeople who shot Holly in 2009 come looking for Jackson in the past,and these “Enemies of Time” will stop at nothing to recruit thispowerful young time-traveler. Recruit… or kill him. Piecingtogether the clues about his father, the Enemies of Time, andhimself, Jackson must decide how far he’s willing to go to saveHolly… and possibly the entire world.

My Review

Tempestis a fun, action packed time travelling novel. It sucks you in withalmost immediate mystery and adventure and continues with a storythat is layered and surprising. I love books with a fast pace andthis definitely fit the bill. I also liked how the story kept meguessing. I was never completely sure what was going to happen next,or what new developments were going to reveal themselves.

Themain appeal of this novel is that it centres around time travel. I'vealways loved books that involved time travel. I'm sure it's somethingwe've all dreamed about doing at some point or another. The idea ofgoing back and reliving (or changing) certain past events isdefinitely appealing! At times the details of how Jackson's timetravel works can get a little confusing. It is the tragic flaw oftime travel narratives. Working out the kinks of time travel is neverperfect.

Myone complaint is that I couldn't really connect with Jackson as acharacter. I just didn't feel like I could relate with him and hisobsession with Holly. It was like nothing else mattered to him and itgot old really quickly. But beyond Jackson I love the whole “Enemiesof Time” angle and I can't wait to find out more about them andtheir motivations.

Finally,I feel like this needs to be stated, due to certain recent events.This book is not anti-woman/anti-feminists and doesn't depict alllesbians as man haters. Are there times where Jackson says/thinks someinsensitive things? Yes. Is he a little immature? Definitely. Buthe's a teenage boy. Teenage boys (no offence guys!) have been knownto be a little immature. This novel is in no way offensive, so ifthat was holding you back from picking this book up, please reconsider. The story is a lotof fun and I'm looking forward to the rest of the series.

About the Author

Julie Cross lives in central Illinois withher husband and three children where she works as a YMCA GymnasticsProgram Director. She never considered writing professionally untilMay of 2009. Since then, she hasn’t gone a day withoutwriting.

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Book Review: House of Silk by Anthony Horowitz

2012-01-15T00:02:00.000-05:00

Publisher:Mulholland Books

Genre: Mystery

Page count: 294

Source: Receivedcopy from publisher in exchange for an honest review

Release Date:November 1 2011

London, 1890. 221B Baker St. A fineart dealer named Edmund Carstairs visits Sherlock Holmes and Dr JohnWatson to beg for their help. He is being menaced by a strange man ina flat cap - a wanted criminal who seems to have followed him all theway from America. In the days that follow, his home is robbed, hisfamily is threatened. And then the first murder takes place. Almostunwillingly, Holmes and Watson find themselves being drawn everdeeper into an international conspiracy connected to the teemingcriminal underworld of Boston, the gaslit streets of London, opiumdens and much, much more. And as they dig, they begin to hear thewhispered phrase-the House of Silk-a mysterious entity that connectsthe highest levels of government to the deepest depths ofcriminality. Holmes begins to fear that he has uncovered a conspiracythat threatens to tear apart the very fabric of society.

My Review
I grew up loving Sherlock Holmes and all his adventures. I still remember when my uncle gave a beautiful forest green edition of The Hound of the Baskervilles for Christmas one year. I read that book more times then I can remember and no matter how many times I read it, the story was always amazing.

Needless to say this meant there was quite a bit of pressure on House of Silk. Will it be as good as the originals? Will he get Holmes right? Will the mystery give me the same sense of excitement that it did when I was a teenager.

Happily, the answer to all these questions was yes! The thing that stood out the most was the prose itself. From the very first chapter I felt like I was reading just another Sherlock Holmes story. Anthony Horowitz hit the nail on the head in turns of language and turn of phrase. And because the prose felt right, it was so easy to fall into the story and get caught up in the mystery.

Once I was further into the story I was able to appreciate the excellent plotting. Like every great Sherlock Holmes tale, the story starts off slow. A simple mystery, one that Holmes jumps into after only a few minutes of observation. As he learns more, however, the mystery unravels in unpredictable layers, bringing it finally to it's dramatic and exciting conclusion. Nothing is rushed and nothing feels forced. The one thing that really sets House of Silk's mystery apart for me, however, was that it felt more complex and more detailed than the originals. This is partially because it's a novel instead of a short story, but in addition credit definitely needs to be given to Horowitz for his creative and unique thinking.

If you're a Sherlock Holmes fan you definitely don't want to pass on House of Silk. You'll appreciate the mystery, the prose and the wonderful story telling. You'll also love the nods to other Holmes tale - I loved the references to the red headed league and the appearance of Mycroft myself! Normally I don't like when writers try to build off the classics, but in this case I definitely give Anthony Horowitz my seal of approval!

About the Author

Anthony Horowitz is perhaps the busiestwriter in England. He has been writing since the age of eight, andprofessionally since the age of twenty. In addition to the highlysuccessful Alex Rider books, he is also the writer and creator ofaward winning detective series Foyle’s War, and more recently eventdrama Collision, among his other television works he has writtenepisodes for Poirot, Murder in Mind, Midsomer Murders and Murder MostHorrid. Anthony became patron to East Anglia Children’s Hospices in2009.

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Camp Wordsmith: Why I Chose YA

2012-01-14T08:00:00.000-05:00

Week 2

Word Count: 0

Stage: Planning

Since this is only week two of this adventure I am still very much in the planning stages. And by planning stage I means I have a very rough outline with many things added and crossed out in it. Seriously it's 15ish pages of crazy writing and scribbles.

What I do know, however, if that I am writing a Young Adult novel. An older YA novel, but YA none the less.

So this week I'm discussing why I chose YA.

Though the fine details of my love are still fuzzy, I know I want to write a story with GLBT characters. In this case specifically bisexual characters. I thought about writing an adult novel, but I find that (for the most part) GLBT adult novels are political works. The one's I read generally have a larger point that they're trying to get across.

That's not what I want for this story. I want to write a love story. Plain and simple. Well maybe not simple. It's actually fairly complicated. But at it's base it is a story about a girl who falls in love. She falls in love, she makes some poor decisions, then some good ones and at the end of it all she comes out a little stronger and a little braver than she was at the beginning. Which really, is the experience for all of us who have been through a serious relationship, whether we're straight/gay/bisexual/transgendered etc. Yes the details may differ, but the emotion is the same.

I also recently finished The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. Though I had already decided to write a YA novel before reading this book, it was after reading this book that I became completely 100% dead set on it. This book amazed me in a way few books ever had. It dealt with a serious and important topic but did so in a way that was funny and realistic and showed that pain and suffering don't have to define your whole existence and don't have to dictate what kind of person you are. If I can write a novel 25% as good as this one I will count that as a win.

Finally, I want to write a YA novel because in many ways I'm still a young adult myself. I'm in my early twenties and there's still a lot about me and my life that I'm learning. Which I think is a great thing. I think many of the people who read this blog feel the same way. And because of that I think I'll connect more with these characters when I actually put pen to paper because their experience is not unlike my own. As the saying goes - Write what you know!

Fangirl Friday: My Fictional Bucketlist

2012-01-12T22:50:00.002-05:00

Thanks toPinterest I have recently come across a wonderful Tumblr called“Fictional Bucket List” . The concept is pretty simple. You list what you would like to do with your favourite fictional character(s). Sofor this week's Fangirl Friday I decided to make my own fictionalbucketlist.

1) Have a beerwith Merry and Pippin

2) Go travellingwith the Doctor

3) Buy somebread from the Mellark bakery

4) Attend aprivate Warblers concert

5) Get rescuedby Captain Kirk, revived by Bones, and taken care of by Chekhov (I realize this is 3 things but I'm counting it as 1!)

6) Go to schoolat Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters

7) Go on a dateAgent Lincoln Lee

8) ConvinceDarth Vader to let me blow up a planet

9)Visit theBeast's library

10) Catch thetrain on Platform 9 ¾

If I could ever do any of the things on this list I would definitely be one happy camper!

What would be onyour fictional bucketlist?

What happens to the future feminists?!

2012-01-12T10:00:00.000-05:00

So yesterday I was reading an upcoming dystopian novel. Overall I was enjoying it immensely but then I came across a sentence that gave me pause.

" Article 2 and 3 defined the 'Whole Family' as one man, one woman and children. Divorce and abortion were made illegal in 4 and 6, and 7 outlined a specific set of rules for traditional male and female roles. Things like the importance of a woman's subservience."

My first thought after reading this was "But why?!" My second thought was "I've seen this before..."

So when I got home I scoured my bookshelves and look what I found

All these books take place in futuristic societies and have women fulfilling a role that is subservient to men (except maybe Across the Universe, I keep flip flopping back and forth on that one).

Because bringing you breakfast in bed
is the key to a successful society!

So I want to know, what is it about the future that makes us think we will revert back to a time before women's liberation? I understand that the world has gone through something traumatic in these books and society needs to rebuild. Realistically, the society we rebuild will not look anything like the one pre-crisis. If the crisis affected population/population growth, I could totally see laws/regulations springing up regarding abortion, divorce, medical testing etc (not that I would agree with those laws but I could see the practicality behind them). What I don't understand is the subservient women. How does that help society rebuild? What is the reasoning behind it?

More importantly, why did the women of this new, future world go along with it? Where were all the kick ass feminists to stand up and (once again) fight for our rights? Did this evil future government kill all the outspoken feminists before assuming power?

Especially if that lady is Katniss

I don't mean this post to in anyway to be seen as a criticism of these books. I love these books - which could be because they have an amazing female lead that doesn't let society tell her what to do and ends up sticking it to the man (so to speak). Maybe I love them because they spit in the face of this denial of rights?

If this is the case, then it would seem that this is almost a literary device. A way to suck people into the story - in particular, female readers. That's all well and good (we all know how important it is to suck your readers in) but why is it always women's rights that are revoked? I haven't read a lot of books (actually none come to mind at all) where a dystopian society reverts to importing slaves from Africa, or using immigrants as cheap sources of labour to rebuild all their infrastructure. Which begs the question, why is it so easy to take away women's rights in dystopian (or any futuristic) fiction?

While pondering all this today, I decided to ask Twitter "Why does feminism disappear in the future?" and I think the most sobering response I got was from my fellow book blogger, Meghan (from Coffee & Wizards) when she said "it's disappearing now".

There's a lot of truth in her statement. I can't tell you the number of women I know who believe that feminism is over. That we've accomplished our goals and we are equal now. And though we've come a long way, we're not there yet. The last time I checked women's earnings were around 71% of men's earnings (when preforming the same job!!). Then there's issues like gender stereotypes, domestic violence, and that pesky glass ceiling.

So I want to know what all of you think! Does it bother you how frequent women's rights are forgotten in dystopian novels? Can you think of other examples then the one's I have above? Why do you think it's primarily women's rights that get focused on in these books? Would we really not fight back if this situation arose? The questions are endless!

There are also plenty of dystopian/futuristic novels of course that don't fall back on these tropes - The Hunger Games and Divergent, are two that come immediately to mind. What, if anything, makes these books different? Or are they different?

Book Review: The Demi Monde by Rod Rees

2012-01-12T08:00:00.000-05:00

Series: The DemiMonde Saga #1

Publisher:William Morrow

Genre:Steampunk, Fantasy, Science Fiction

Page count: 528

Source: Egalleyfrom NetGalley

Release Date:December 27 2011

EXPERIENCE THE ULTIMATE IN VIRTUALREALITY. The Demi-Monde is the most advanced computer simulation everdevised. Created to prepare soldiers for the nightmarish reality ofurban warfare, it is a virtual world locked in eternal civil war. Itsthirty million digital inhabitants are ruled by duplicates of some ofhistory's cruellest tyrants: Reinhard Heydrich, the architect of theHolocaust; Beria, Stalin's arch executioner; Torquemada, the pitilessInquisitor General; Robespierre, the face of the Reign of Terror. Butsomething has gone badly wrong inside the Demi-Monde, and the USPresident's daughter has become trapped in this terrible world. Itfalls to eighteen-year-old Ella Thomas to rescue her, yet once Ellahas entered the Demi-Monde she finds that everything is not as itseems, that its cyber-walls are struggling to contain the evil withinand that the Real World is in more danger than anyone realises.

My Review

This book starts out with a bang! Rod Rees is a writer that knows how to get your attention. Typically it takes me until about 1/4 of the way through a book to really get obsessed with the story. With The Demi Monde it happened with in a couple of pages. I was almost compulsively flipping pages trying to figure out what was going to happen next and how all the pieces fit together.

Besides the initial action and excitement I loved how inventive the story was. You may have noticed that at the top of this post I had a little trouble determining the exact genre of the novel. It was a brilliant mash up of steampunk, fantasy, science fiction and historical fiction. It combined all the things I loved about all those genres into one amazing package. There is some major world building skills going on here. Rod Rees has essentially created a world within a world (the Demi Monde) and within that world he has created a series of other worlds. We only get to see one or two of them in great detail, but this is the first in a series so I'm hoping the rest will get explored later on!

Finally, if it wasn't enough that this novel had great action, amazing detail and is an example of genre bending at its finest, it also has some great characters. Some were completely original and innovative and I got completely enthralled by then and others were really neat imagining of real historical figures. These historical characters, are primarily made up of sociopaths making the story reach some crazy heights and putting the other characters through some incredibly intense ordeals.

This is a hefty book and you shouldn't count on it being a quick read. But in all honesty you don't want it to be a quick read. You want it to last, you want to savour every last chapter, scene, moment, snippet of dialogue. It's just that good. If you like science fiction, fantasy, steampunk, historical fiction or just a really well constructed story then I highly recommend you add this book to your list.

About the Author

Rod Rees has spent his life travellingthroughout Africa, the Middle East, Bangladesh and Russia, andconsequently found himself living in Qatar, Tehran and Moscow. He hasbuilt pharmaceutical factories in Dhaka, set up a satellitecommunication network in Moscow, and conceived and designed ajazz-themed hotel in the UK.
Now a full-time writer, Rod livesnear Derby, England, with his wife Nelli and their two children.

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Waiting on Wednesday: The Selection

2012-01-11T00:01:00.000-05:00

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly feature hosted by Breaking the Spine. It's a chance to share upcoming books that we're particularly excited for.

Kiera Cass

Harper Collins

April 24 2012

What's ItAbout?

For thirty-five girls, the Selection isthe chance of a lifetime. The opportunity to escape the life laid outfor them since birth. To be swept up in a world of glittering gownsand priceless jewels. To live in the palace and compete for the heartof the gorgeous Prince Maxon.
But for America Singer, beingSelected is a nightmare. It means turning her back on her secret lovewith Aspen, who is a caste below her. Leaving her home to enter afierce competition for a crown she doesn't want. Living in a palacethat is constantly threatened by violent rebel attacks.
ThenAmerica meets Prince Maxon. Gradually, she starts to question all theplans she's made for herself- and realizes that the life she's alwaysdreamed of may not compare to a future she never imagined.

WhyI Want to Read It?

To be honest I'm not a fan of this cover. This is a big deal because I'm a total cover-judger. But when I read the synopsis of this book I knew I had to read it. It totally won me over despite my intial impression
I like the idea of a reluctant heroine. She doesn't want to be in this situation but she is and I can only imagine (or hope?) she faces the challenge head on.

What are youWaiting on this Wednesday?

Book Review: The Gathering Storm by Robin Bridges

2012-01-09T08:00:00.000-05:00

Series: KaterinaAlexandrovna #1

Publisher:Delacorte Press

Genre:Historical Fiction, Paranormal

Page count: 389

Source: Receivedcopy from publisher in exchange for an honest review

Release date:January 10 2012

St. Petersburg, Russia, 1888. As sheattends a whirl of glittering balls, royal debutante KaterinaAlexandrovna, Duchess of Oldenburg, tries to hide a dark secret: shecan raise the dead. No one knows. Not her family. Not the girls ather finishing school. Not the tsar or anyone in her aristocraticcircle. Katerina considers her talent a curse, not a gift. But whenshe uses her special skill to protect a member of the ImperialFamily, she finds herself caught in a web of intrigue.
Anevil presence is growing within Europe's royal bloodlines—and thosealigned with the darkness threaten to topple the tsar. SuddenlyKaterina's strength as a necromancer attracts attention fromunwelcome sources . . . including two young men—GeorgeAlexandrovich, the tsar's standoffish middle son, who needsKaterina's help to safeguard Russia, even if he's repelled by hersecret, and the dashing Prince Danilo, heir to the throne ofMontenegro, to whom Katerina feels inexplicably drawn.
Thetime has come for Katerina to embrace her power, but which side willshe choose—and to whom will she give her heart?

My Review
This book takes place in imperial Russia!!! I love imperial Russia!!

Sorry that was a bit of an outburst but seriously I really do love books set in this time period. It is arguably one of the five best places you could set a novel. I just find it so magical and mysterious. There's also so much history coming out of Russia at that time (which I may or may not be obsessed with as well). This meant that right away, from the very first chapter I was completely enamoured with this story. It was also great to read this book in winter when my current surrounding of snow and cold matched the setting of the story.

Now since this setting already has a mysterious quality to it, the paranormal element just seemed to fit so perfectly. It didn't feel overly cheesy or silly. I actually think it added just the right touch of darkness and intrigue that kept me hanging on throughout the entire novel. This book combines a variety of supernatural creatures, including fairies, vampires and what are essentially zombies. All of which we've seen a lot of recently in the YA genre. But due to the historical nature of this tale and the mixing in of Russian folklore, it all felt very unique and fun to read about. In addition it was nice to see them all converge in one place and react to one another.

Robin Bridges' debut is an exciting and creative read. It combines one of my favourite settings, with a lot of standard paranormal characters and it does it in a way that feels fresh and original. To me this book is definitely a must read.

About the Author

By day, Robin is a mild-mannered writerof fantasy and paranormal fiction for young adults. By night, she isa pediatric nurse. Robin lives on the Gulf Coast with her husband,one soon-to-be teenager, and two slobbery mastiffs. THE GATHERINGSTORM is her first novel.

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Book Review: Sanctus by Simon Toyne

2012-01-07T10:00:00.000-05:00

Series: SanctiTrilogy #1

Publisher:HarperCollins

Genre: ReligiousThriller

Page count: 400

Source:Purchased copy

Release Date:March 31 2011

The certainties of the modern world areabout to be blown apart by a three thousand year-old conspiracynurtured by blood and lies …
A man throws himselfto his death from the oldest inhabited place on the face of theearth, a mountainous citadel in the historic Turkish city of Ruin.This is no ordinary suicide but a symbolic act. And thanks to themedia, it is witnessed by the entire world.But fewunderstand it. For charity worker Kathryn Mann and a handful ofothers in the know, it is what they have been waiting for. The cowledand secretive fanatics that live in the Citadel suspect it could meanthe end of everything they have built – and they will kill, tortureand break every law to stop that. For Liv Adamsen, New York crimereporter, it begins the next stage of a journey into the heart of herown identity.And at that journey's end lies a discoverythat will change EVERYTHING

My Review
Santus is the first book in a proposed trilogy and I found it a lot more thoughtful than other books in this genre. Simon Toyne didn't just write a thriller based on Christian ideas and beliefs, he created a whole new world for the story to take place in. There was so much more detail put into Ruin. It felt like Rome and Turkey and so many other places all rolled into one. As a result you didn't feel like you were reading just another book about Vatican conspiracies. Because of this fictional world it felt like there was so much more to the story than that.

I also loved that the main protagonist was female. It's nice to see a strong independent female have a starring role in a thriller, not simply serve as a sidekick to the leading man. What's more is that she didn't even have a sidekick! Not that she was alone for the whole novel, but there was never someone she was completely dependent on. I felt this made the other characters more versatile and allowed for more twists to occur throughout the story. Including the amazing twist at the end! Totally didn't see that one coming.

Despite all these great twists, however, there were times when the book felt really long and dragged out. At times I found it difficult to stay motivated and I actually stopped reading for a little while. After a bit of a break I was able to get back into it again, but as a result it took me longer than it should have to read. My other complaint is that the chapters were broken up in an odd way. They felt more like scenes, instead of full chapters, and it made some parts (especially parts heavy on the action) feel choppy.

If you like books like The Da Vinci Code than I definitely recommend Sanctus. It was smart and interesting and had a great cast of characters. That being said, it's no Da Vinci Code, so I don't think it will appeal to many people who don't already read that genre.

About the Author

Simon Toyne graduated from Goldsmiths College in London with a degreein English and Drama then worked in television for almost twentyyears before becoming a novelist.

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The Writing Adventure - Introducing Camp Wordsmith

2012-01-07T08:00:00.000-05:00

That's me (on the left) - future writer and book lover!

Way way back when I was just a wee lass if you asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up I would have said "A Writer" without even hesitating a little bit. I wrote poems and short stories and even won a few competitions at my local library (winning such fabulous prizes as The Secret Garden and Silverwing). That determination lasted until my early teens.

Not only did I carry it I helped hand mix it!

But then I was a teenager...and being a teenager was all about "trying to find myself". I wanted to be a lawyer, a journalist, a teacher, a firefighter. You name it I probably wanted to do it. I ended up choosing Global Development Studies for my discipline in University and whole-heartedly through myself into saving the world. I studied in Cuba for awile, I built houses in El Salvador, I raised money for Keep A Child Alive and Oxfam. But guess what? After 4 years I realized, though I cared deeply about all those things I couldn't see myself doing it for the rest of my life.

All of this caused me to reflect on what I truly loved in life. Books. I started this blog and I entered the world of publishing and I can honestly say it's like puzzle pieces fitting together. I was meant to be surrounded by books. But what about writing?

There he is...sneaking up to distract me

This past November I participated in NaNoWriMo for the first time. Though I only made it to 30,000 words (two jobs, a psychotic puppy and a malfunctioning laptop conspired against me) it helped me realize I really missed writing. It also helped me come up with a novel idea (no pun intended) that I am really really excited about and all that's what has brought us here.

Throughout the next year, along with two other amazing blogger, Angel (Mermaid Visions) and Jen (Almost Grown Up) I will be pursuing this new writing adventure in the form of Camp Wordsmith. Every Saturday the three of us are going to post about writing progress. This can include word counts, plot development, characters or just general thoughts about what we're doing.

Next week will be the official kick of of this brand new shiny adventure and I hope you'll come cheer us on!

Fangirl Friday: Butterbeer!

2012-01-06T08:00:00.000-05:00

Fangirl Friday is a weekly feature here at Hooked on Books where I share some of my favourite nerdy, non bookish things. This can include DIY projects, product features, geeky field trips, movie/game reviews etc.

I don't know if this is common knowledge or not, but I am a sugar addict. Seriously. While writing tonight I have consumed a cupcake, a Lindor chocolate and a handful of butterscotch chips. So this week when I was brainstorming for Fangirl Friday I decided I needed to make something sugary. At the same time as all of this I was also flipping through my brand, new shiny copy of Harry Potter Page to Screen. As a result my brain put two and two together and I decided I must attempt and make my very own Butterbeer.

Butterbeer, that wonderful sounding beverage from the Harry Potter books (and later movies). Sometimes it is served hot and sometimes cold (I've been told it's cold at Universal) but seeing as its January and freezing here in Toronto I thought my version should be hot.

I found a pretty basic recipe (which you can also find here) and it only had 4 ingredients! I couldn't find any plain cream flavoured coffee-mate (Does it not exist? Are they all flavoured?) So I bought caramel because I figured it would go the best with the overall taste of the drink.

To start you mix the butterscotch chips and butter together and then melt them in the micorwave. My dog was very interested in this process and I can't say I blame him because it smelt amazing!

Once it's melted you add the cream, heat it again for 30 seconds, stir, heat, stir etc until it forms a thicker, almost paste-like substance. Basically it should look like topping for your ice cream (which also sounds like a brilliant idea and I think I will try that this weekend...)

Once you have your sugary, buttery, creamy paste (I'm pretty sure that's the recipe for diabetes) all that's left is the cream soda. You microwave it for 80-90 sec. Just long enough for it to get warm but still fizzy. You actually don't need as much as I thought you would, so my boyfriend got to drink the extra.

Once heated you pour the paste into the cream soda and it fizzes A LOT - I recommend doing it over your sink. When all that crazy fizz settles you get something that looks like the drink above.

The first few sips were amazing! So sugaery and wonderful. By the fourth or fifth sip however I felt a little ill. I ended up adding more cream and putting it in my coffee, making a make shift Butterbeer Latte. Which was actually quite delicious.

Final verdict: Butterbeer is great in theory but will probably kill you if you drink too much of it. If you are both a sugar addict and a Harry Potter fan however than you should at least try making it yourself. Can't call yourself a true fan unless you're willing to put your life on the line making experimental fictional products ;). I would be interested to try the cold version at Universal because I'm sure they did a much better job than me.

Happy Friday Everyone!

Book Review: A Million Suns by Beth Revis

2012-01-05T08:00:00.000-05:00

Series: : Acrossthe Universe #2

Publisher:Razorbill (Penguin)

Genre: ScienceFiction

Page count: 400

Source: Won anARC

Release date:January 10 2012

Warning: Thisreview may contain spoilers for Across the Universe!!! Read thisreview at your own risk!!

Godspeed was fueled by lies. Now itis ruled by chaos.

It's been three months since Amy was unplugged. The life shealways knew is over. And everywhere she looks, she sees the walls ofthe spaceship Godspeed. But there may just be hope: Elder has assumedleadership of the ship. He's finally free to enact his vision - nomore Phydus, no more lies.
But when Elder discovers shocking news about the ship, he andAmy race to discover the truth behind life on Godspeed. They mustwork together to unlock a puzzle that was set in motion hundreds ofyears earlier, unable to fight the romance that's growing betweenthem and the chaos that threatens to tear them apart.

My Review

I am very sad tosay I didn't enjoy this one as much as I did Across the Universe.

The mainconflict was incredibly interesting. The ship has erupted into whatis basically mutiny. Only it feels a lot of more serious and a lotmore scary, then it ever has on stories that take place at sea. Youcan't maroon people in space. You can only kill them or send them outinto the airless vaccumm that surrounds you. Neither sounds verypleasent. As a result I found people acted a lot more desperately andfought even harder for what they wanted. The result was lots ofaction. I love books with lots of action! They keep me hanging onuntil the last page.

Admist all thisgreat action was Amy. And I can honestly say she is the sole reason Ididn't like A Million Suns as much as Across the Universe. Amy droveme nuts. Plain and simple. I found her pretty flaky. We're supposedto believe that she's strong and rational but time after time shesimply ran to Elder or just plain ran away when things got tough. None of which gave theimpression she was strong at all. I also wondered why she was neverthe one pushing for democracy. Coming from our present day NorthAmerican society I would think that would be prominent in her mindwhen she saw the state of disarray the ship was in.

I also neverbought that she would forgive Elder so easily for unplugging her.Sure I knew she would forgive him eventually, but immediately seemslike a stretch. She may never see her parents again, she's now forcedto live on an isolated ship where everyone thinks she's a freak. Sheshould be a little more angry that he was the cause of that. Maybeshe's a bigger person than me.

Overall still agreat read that I read in one sitting and the pages flew by as Itried to find out what happened. I can't believe how long I have towait for the next book!! I only hope Amy improves as the storyprogresses.

About the Author
Beth Revis wrote her first books as a student in classrooms, whenthe professors did not hold her interest and she jotted down storiesinstead of taking notes. Beth writes science fiction and fantasynovels for teens. Her debut novel, ACROSS THE UNIVERSE, will bepublished by Razorbill/Penguin in Spring 2011. Beth is represented byMerrilee Heifetz at Writers House. Beth also runs a blog onwriting (http://bethrevis.blogspot.com) and is a participant of agroup blog by debut dystopian authors(http://leaguewriters.blogspot.com).

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Waiting on Wednesday: Glamour in Glass

2012-01-04T10:20:00.000-05:00

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly feature hosted by Breaking the Spine.It's a chance to share upcoming books that we're particularly excitedfor.

Mary Robinette Kowal
Tor Books
April 10 2012

What’s it about

In the tumultuous months after Napoleon abdicates histhrone, Jane and Vincent go to France for their honeymoon. While there, thedeposed emperor escapes his exile in Elba, throwing the continent into turmoil.With no easy way back to England, they struggle to escape, but when Vincent iscaptured as a British spy, Jane realizes that their honeymoon has been a ruseto give them a reason to be in Europe. He has been using a new technique tocapture glamour folds in glass in order to send vital information back toEngland, where the court has great interest in the political unrest in theregion.

Left with no outward salvation, Jane is left to overcome herown delicate circumstances and use her glamour to rescue her husband fromprison…and hopefully prevent her newly built marriage from getting stranded onthe shoals of another country's war.

Why I Want to Read It

- Magic and fantasy! For as long as I live I will never getsick of fantasy novels. They’re just so enchanting and addictive!

- It’s said her booksare written like a tribute to Jane Austen. I would like to see exactly whatthat would entail and whether I would like her take on things.

What are you waiting on this Wednesday?

Book Review: Cinder by Marissa Meyer + Giveaway!

2012-01-03T11:10:00.000-05:00

Series: Lunar Chronicles #1
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Genre: Science Fiction, Fairy Tale Re-telling
Page count: 387
Source: Received copy from publisher in exchange for an honest review

Release date: January 3 2012

Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of NewBeijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunarpeople watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hingeson one girl. . . .

Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with amysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’sillness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s,she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and aforbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal,she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future.

My Review

Cinder is a completely original take on a classic tale. I've read a lot of re-tellings but for me this one really stands out. It combines all the entrancing characteristics of our traditional fairy tales - overcoming obstacles, a whirlwind romance, hope in the face of despair. The type of stuff that makes you sigh after you read it. What makes Cinder remarkable, however, is that Marissa Meyer has combined all that with what is arguably my favourite genre - science fiction. It made the story more grimy, more edgy. It made the story of Cinderella way more exciting.

If all that wasn't enough Marissa Meyer has added in Sailor Moon references! She's a former writer of Sailor Moon fanfiction, and you can clearly see how it has influenced her work here. Some of the references are more obvious - like the idea of a Moon Kingdom - while others are more subtle. This was a welcome and just plain awesome throwback to my time as a teen, running home to watch the newest episode of Sailor Moon, and it also feeds into my current addiction to the reissues of the traditional manga series.

There are a few details about this book that were less than fantastic. I felt like the characters could have been developed a little bit more and I personally could have used a little more background information. However, I found this in line with most fairy tales, so it didn't really bother me all that much. Those teeny tiny flaws can also be overlooked as Cinder touches on some more serious social issues. Cyborgs (like Cinder) are treated like second class citizens and used as test subjects. This more serious turn gave a much needed edge to the story and is what will keep this book of my shelves for years to come.

Cinder is the first book in a series of four. Each will approach a different, well known, fairy tale. I can't wait to see her take on other fairy tales in the rest of the Lunar Chronicles and how she blends them in this futuristic setting. If you haven't read Cinder yet, I highly recommend you do. It's a great way to start off 2012!

About the Author

Marissalives in Tacoma, Washington, with her fiancé and their two cats. In addition toher slight obsession with books and writing, she is big on road-tripping,wine-tasting, and hunting for antiques. She is represented by Jill Grinberg.

Similar Titles

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Giveaway!

Because I loved this book so much I want to share it with all of you. All you have to do to enter is tell me your favourite fairy tale or fairy tale re-telling!

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